A New Shape for the Future

The diamond model has served us well for many years, but the needs of children and demands of society have continued to change and we must evolve to reflect this.  We want our School to be an inclusive community that fosters equality and understanding, better reflecting the world in which we live. 

A fully co-educational model will help us achieve this more effectively, offering equal opportunities to every child throughout their journey with us. This latest evolution represents a natural transition for our pupils towards a structure that will best meet their needs and aspirations.  The creation of a single senior school will enable us to focus resources on delivering the educational priorities we have for academic excellence, outstanding pastoral care and the breadth and quality of our curriculum.  

A move to co-education for all pupils will create a more efficient and financially sustainable model that is fit for the future. It will help us to limit the need for significant future fee rises and enable ongoing investment in the education we are able to offer our pupils.  

From September 2026, pupils entering Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 will be taught in fully co-educational classes.  However, pupils entering Year 11 will continue in their single-sex GCSE classes, meaning that the first mixed Year 11 classes will be in September 2027.  

From September 2027 all classes throughout the school will be co-educational.

The imposition of VAT and other significant tax changes have presented the impetus for a strategic review.  The decision, however, is driven by three key factors:

1. This is an opportunity to move forwards to a structure which will better meet the needs of our pupils in the world today.  
2. It will enable us more effectively to enhance our educational offer over the years ahead.  
3. It is imperative for us, as for all independent schools, to ensure we are operating with efficiency in order to secure financial sustainability for the future, securing the breadth and quality of our education for generations to come. 

Dame Allan’s has always been a school which nurtures and celebrates the achievements of every child across the full breadth of our educational offer.  The change of our structure will not alter our emphasis on developing well-rounded and self-aware young adults with the qualifications, skills and qualities they will need for successful lives.

Rather than the structure we use to provide our education, we believe our distinctiveness lies in the quality of the work we do to meet the individual needs of our pupils, and the value we place upon their development of character and abilities across our broad and rich curriculum. 

Research in this area concludes that, when other determining factors are removed, there is no significant link between the type of school and academic outcomes.  There are many examples of excellent schools of all types.  The most important influences on academic and other outcomes are the quality of teaching and the quality of pastoral care; our teachers are already skilled in teaching and looking after both girls and boys, meeting their needs as individuals with unique characteristics and aspirations.

Research on diversity also consistently demonstrates the value of exposure to a wider range of pupils’ perspectives, so extending our co-educational provision throughout the school will enable us to better create this environment for all our young people.  We have long understood the value of mixing, offering a myriad of co-curricular opportunities for pupils to learn and socialise together outside the classroom throughout their Dame Allan’s journey.

The skills, systems and motivation of our staff to deliver outstanding care for pupils will remain unchanged.  As we move towards co-educational teaching, we will work hard to ensure that we don’t lose the essential feel of the community that our pupils currently enjoy; this is why a phase of integrated activities is planned.  

Managing the experiences of our pupils will be our key priority through the planning of our pastoral care and curriculum, the expertise of subject teachers and form teachers, and increasing opportunities for pupils to learn and work together.  

Natalie Shaw, Vice Principal (Pastoral), will continue to have oversight of pastoral care across the schools. David Ridley will take on the role of Director of Senior School and will be supported by Heads of Year and form teachers. Jo Downie, Director of Pupil Wellbeing, will work closely with Mr Ridley to support the wellbeing and academic progress of all pupils in Years 7 to 11.

As we move to co-education, the number of staff we require will change to meet the needs of teaching and care for pupils in combined classes.  We know how important our staff are, through their skills, professionalism and care, in our provision of the highest standards of education.  

We will be consulting with all those whose roles may be affected by this change, looking to manage this potentially difficult part of our journey collaboratively and with sensitivity, and working hard to support our staff and pupils throughout.

Currently, our maximum class size from Years 7 to 11 is set at 24 pupils and that will not change.  Operating in co-educational teaching classes, as we have done in some smaller GCSE option subjects for many years, will enable us to populate more of our GCSE classes to efficient sizes, averaging around 18 pupils, whilst preserving the individualised support we offer.  There is no plan to change class sizes elsewhere in the school.

No – we’re not planning to make any changes to the uniform as a result of moving to co-education.

While we generally aim for balance through the school, there will always be variations in different year groups and subject classes.  Across the school, we have around 55% boys to 45% girls.

There is no ambition to become a more selective school.  Space permitting, we have always welcomed pupils of a range of abilities, aptitudes and interests who would thrive with us and benefit from a Dame Allan’s education. This will continue.  We value high academic achievement but also the co-curricular strengths of the school, and we already receive pupils who excel in both.  Our admissions process will continue to seek pupils who will thrive in an academically ambitious environment, as well as those who will embrace and excel in the broader opportunities available here.

We are confident in our ability to provide a welcoming and nurturing environment for all our pupils, as we have for many years, such that everyone feels they are known and belong in our community.  We believe the greatest impact on pupil experience comes from the relationships they have with staff and with each other; we have a strongly empathetic, knowledgeable and motivated staff body who are excited by making this change, and boys and girls in the Sixth Form who are excellent role models.

In preparation for this change we are reviewing every element of our provision, using expertise and experience both internally and from outside the school to ensure we can provide the best education for both girls and boys.  We are working on a programme of integrated experiences over the coming year so that pupils will be confident in learning and playing together as we move towards co-education in September 2026.

We welcome any enquiries from prospective parents now through our admissions office, so please contact the Admissions Team on dasadmissions@dameallans.co.uk or call 0191 275 0608.

For any general enquiries from current or prospective parents about our transition to full co-education, please email communications@dameallans.co.uk. 
 

There have been changes at many other independent schools nationally and locally over recent months, reflecting the pressure that the sector has been under. Of particular relevance, over recent years the majority of the other large independent diamond schools have announced or completed moves to co-education. The decisions of other schools have not directly influenced our change but we are not immune to pressures affecting schools across our sector and have taken action now in order to secure the school’s sustainability for current and future generations of Dame Allan’s families.

Imbalances in numbers will often occur, in different age groups and subjects, as in any co-educational setting.  The teaching and care of pupils as individuals is key to ensuring their progress and wellbeing are promoted. Our staff are already experienced and skilled, with good knowledge of pupils, in order to achieve this. Pastoral leaders will also be working carefully and proactively, with knowledge of our pupils and through their understanding of friendship groups, other social factors and class dynamics, in order to make sure children have positive learning and social environments, and are able to make friends within their classes and maintain friendships more widely.  Gender imbalances in themselves rarely present a problem and mixed classes can provide for more positive, socially inclusive and balanced experiences for all children, regardless of any specific class ratio.  

Larger year groups offer opportunities for more efficient teaching staffing.  While we do not currently plan to extend our already wide range GCSE options, it would be possible to do this more efficiently under a co-educational structure with larger mixed year groups.  Our parent survey indicated a number of option subjects that could be popular and we will consider these in future years. 

Support for children with Special Educational Needs is provided in timetabled small groups - please contact us directly if you have any specific questions about provision for your child.

As with all options, larger mixed year groups will enable greater flexibility in provision and this will also be the case for sporting options, ensuring that the greatest possible number of choices are available, in single-sex or in mixed groups as appropriate to the objectives of the session.  

In January 2025, in light of the significant changes to our costs from the taxes imposed on our sector, the governors and senior leadership began a strategic review of provision, including  feedback from parents through surveys and focus groups, aimed at determining priorities and planning for the future sustainability of the school.  Parents expressed a range of views on different elements of our provision and this informed the setting out of our priorities and plans.  The review process was approached by the senior leadership and governors with open minds and a diversity of experiences and opinions on the range of areas addressed.  

A number of different approaches to making our change to full co-education were assessed against each other during the planning stage.  While we firmly believe that the move will ultimately be beneficial to all pupils, we have also sought to strike a balance with concerns about the potential impact on pupils in different year groups.  For this reason we have decided to leave classes of pupils entering Year 10 this September as single-sex for the whole of their GCSEs, and for all pupils there will be a full academic year for us to work with them in building their experiences and confidence in working together in the lead up to September 2026.  A shorter implementation timeframe would have left us less time to ensure our pupils are confident about the change, while a longer timeframe would have left the school with an extended period of change and uncertainty to manage.

The parent survey was enormously useful - the high response rate (at 50% of parents) and quality of the responses provided have given us lots of valuable feedback that will continue to inform our ongoing planning for school development.  Our review process was thorough and wide-ranging and, among other areas, we considered the viability and desirability of a number of approaches to improving our financial efficiency, such as cutting smaller option subjects, reducing co-curricular opportunities and increasing class sizes.  Each of these would have significantly impaired the quality of our provision and reduced the value of our offer for existing and future families.  Whilst we will continue to seek greater efficiency across our operation, in teaching and support areas, we will always aim to provide outstanding value for money in the range and quality of our educational offer for all families.