By Sharon Cromie, Regional Director for UK, Ireland, and Europe, International Coalition of Girls' Schools

Recent UK headlines have focused on school closures in England and suggested that girls’ schools are under particular pressure. But these narratives miss a crucial truth:

Girls’ schools are an integral and influential pillar of the UK’s educational landscape—one that continues to strengthen, evolve, and expand in size, reach, and ambition both nationally and internationally.

The data for England tells us: 

• Independent sector: 142 girls’ schools vs. 86 boys’ schools [ISC]
• State sector: 229 girls’ schools vs. 183 boys’ schools [Department of Education]
• Enrolment: 10,000+ more girls than boys in state single-sex schools

This is not a sector in retreat. It is one defined by reach, relevance, and resilience. The pressures facing girls’ schools—financial constraints, demographic shifts, rising costs—are the same pressures facing all schools. They do not signal weakness in the girls’ school model; they reflect the realities of the current educational climate.

What the headlines overlook is the pace and ambition with which girls’ schools are moving forward. They are innovating boldly and doing so as part of a global coalition—the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS)—dedicated to strengthening girls’ education and supporting the schools that champion it.

A Learning Environment Built Entirely Around Girls

In girls’ schools, every aspect of the educational experience is designed with girls at the centre. This intentionality creates classrooms where girls’ voices dominate, ambitions expand, and confidence grows. It is an ecosystem built for girls’ success.

Confidence, Resilience, and Academic Ambition

Research shows that girls’ school alumnae consistently report higher confidence, stronger resilience, and greater willingness to take intellectual risks. They pursue advanced STEM courses at higher rates, achieve stronger academic outcomes, and develop the ambition needed to thrive in competitive environments.

Girls Who Shape the World

The impact is visible in the women who lead today. Alumnae of girls’ schools include prime ministers, Nobel laureates, CEOs, scientists, engineers, Olympians, authors, activists, politicians and innovators. These women are not anomalies—they are the natural result of environments built to elevate girls’ potential and their numbers and impact continue to grow.

A Global Movement for Girls’ Education

Girls’ schools are strengthened by the work of ICGS, which connects more than 580 schools worldwide. Through advocacy, professional development, and research on what works best for girls, ICGS ensures that girls’ schools remain at the forefront of educational innovation and leadership preparation.

The Girls’ School Sector Does Not Need to Change—It Needs Recognition

The pressures facing girls’ schools today—demographic shifts, rising costs, policy changes—are the same pressures affecting all schools. These pressures do not diminish the value of girls’ schools, nor do they justify diluting their identity or mean they will disappear.

To the contrary, girls’ schools are forward looking institutions, determined to succeed and thrive. Girls’ schools are built for the world girls are entering, not the one they are leaving.

They are where girls become leaders—where the architects of tomorrow are educated today, to lead the change needed to navigate all our futures.

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Sharon Cromie is the International Coalition of Girls' Schools' Regional Director for UK, Ireland, and Europe. She is an education consultant with 20 years’ senior leadership experience in schools with nearly 14 years as a headteacher and/or MAT CEO (retired August 2022). In 2022 the school she led was nominated The Sunday Times UK Secondary School of the Year. She has worked as an Ofsted inspector for over a decade. Sharon currently works as a School Improvement Partner and leadership coach.

Sharon was appointed as the Headteacher of Wycombe High School in 2009.  Wycombe High School was designated by Ofsted as ‘outstanding’ in 2012, as a Maths Hub and National Mathematics and Physics SCITT in 2015 and 2016 respectively, and an ‘Exceptional School’ and a NFER centre of excellence for Research and Development in educational practice.  Sharon became a National Leader of Education in 2013.  Sharon was appointed as Executive Headteacher of Wycombe High School Academies Trust in September 2014, in order to sponsor another local secondary school then in special measures. This school underwent a period of rapid improvement before it was rebrokered in 2018. Prior to joining Wycombe High School, Sharon worked at a range of other schools and colleges and has experience of selective, non-selective, F.E and H.E institutions.

Sharon graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with an honours degree in Law and worked as a Management Consultant before retraining as a teacher in the early 1990s. She has previously been co-President of the Association of State Girls Schools, Chair of Buckinghamshire Association of Secondary Heads and Committee Member of the Bucks Prevent Board. She has represented the Association of State Girls Schools as a contributor at the Global Forum for Girls’ Education in Washington DC in 2018.  She has been a representative on the Maths Hub Council and a member of the Buckinghamshire Schools Forum and Children’s Partnership Board. Sharon led the setup & growth of the National Mathematics and Physics Teacher Training Centre (NMAPs). Starting at Wycombe High School it operates nine Hubs across England involving the very best state and independent schools.