Check the actual entry arrangements
Start with which schools your child is eligible to apply to and the relevant test routes. Then distinguish Year 7 admission from sixth-form admission. A school described as boys’ or girls’ at secondary transfer may have a different sixth-form intake.
For example, Tiffin School publishes a co-educational sixth form alongside its boys’ Year 7 entry. Its structure should not be assumed for every school with a similar label.
Compare curriculum and opportunity
Look at subjects taught to all pupils, later option rules and the availability of music, sport, languages, technology or other interests. Ask whether activities welcome beginners and whether selection or additional costs apply.
Avoid assumptions that particular subjects or activities belong to one type of school. The useful evidence is what the named school teaches and what your child could actually join.
If your child has a particular learning or support need, ask the relevant staff member how provision works in lessons and beyond them.
Ask about relationships and pastoral care
Find out how pupils settle into Year 7, how friendships develop and how the school responds to bullying or worries. Ask who a pupil speaks to when something goes wrong and how parents are kept informed.
Read the latest inspection’s relevant findings and compare them with what staff describe now. A warm visit is helpful, but the ongoing systems matter too.
For a child anxious about moving from a mixed primary school to a single-sex secondary, or the reverse, ask about transition activities and the chance to meet future classmates.
Make the choice school by school
After each visit, ask your child what they enjoyed, what worried them and what they still need to know. Distinguish a specific concern from an assumption about all boys’, girls’ or mixed schools.
Compare those views with the journey, current admission rules and the school’s academic offer. A preferred setting is one consideration; it should be assessed alongside the rest of the child’s school week.
Use Compare to put the schools side by side and open-day prompts to investigate unanswered questions. The resulting CAF order should reflect which actual school you would choose if more than one could offer.
A FEW MORE ANSWERS
Still wondering?
Are single-sex grammar schools always single-sex in sixth form?
No. Some have a mixed sixth form. Read the school’s arrangements for each phase rather than assuming the Year 7 intake describes the whole school.
Can results tell us whether single-sex or mixed is better?
A direct causal conclusion cannot be made from headline results alone. Schools differ in intake, selection, cohort and provision as well as school type.
What if my child strongly prefers one setting?
Ask what is behind the preference and visit where possible. Compare their specific concerns or interests with the school’s actual routines and support, alongside travel and admissions.
Official sources
Checked 28 Sept 2026