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Randwick Girls, stop defaming Randwick Boys and welcome the merger

September 28, 2023 — 11.45am

Once upon a time, I went to Randwick Girls High. It was a superbly imperfect, boy-free experience made up of inspiring teachers and friendships.

Fast-forward to 2023, and I’m the proud mother of two sons going to Randwick Boys. And since the announcement to merge the girls and boys’ schools five days ago, I’ve been gobsmacked by the myopic and profoundly prejudiced approach the girls school community has taken against the boys.

Phillis Foundis with her sons, Dean and Max Foundis-Borrett, who she says must not be stereotyped as “emotionally and intellectually inferior” to students at Randwick Girls.

Phillis Foundis with her sons, Dean and Max Foundis-Borrett, who she says must not be stereotyped as “emotionally and intellectually inferior” to students at Randwick Girls.

I don’t care about the statistics both for and against the merger. I care that an entire school of young men are being negatively stereotyped in the name of protecting the perceived “sanctity of single-sex education”.

The Randwick Girls community has set up an online petition and been interviewed by this masthead. Its flawed argument has generated an online chatter largely informed by disturbing – and often libellous – generalisations. The controversy seems to be predicated on the fantasy that Randwick girls are paragons of virtue and Randwick boys are emotionally and intellectually inferior and prone to predatory behaviour, discrimination and disrespect.

What message is this sending to the majority of Randwick boys – my sons included – who do not fall into this category? You are not wanted. You are not worthy. You are less than your female peers.

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I struggle to understand why a decision that can benefit our boys’ education automatically compromises girls’ learning. More to the point, why is such mean-spirited propaganda deemed acceptable to preserve the status quo? Would this flavour of free speech be tolerated from the boys?

Toxic-masculinity stories gobble up column inches daily. The spotlight rarely lands on the toxic femininity that flares up when narratives like those perpetuated by the merger backlash go unchecked.

So, I’m calling it out.

The sky is not falling, Randwick Girls. Nothing is at risk here. Not female empowerment. Safety. Equality. Or freedom of expression. Dismantling Randwick Boys’ reputations via words dressed up as faux feminist rhetoric reflects just as negatively on you as it does on the boys.

To the girls in favour of the merger but are reluctant to speak up for fear of being shot down by the sisterhood, I feel for you. Having an unpopular opinion doesn’t make you wrong. Stay true to yourself.

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Time-travelling back to the timid, stuttering me with a bad perm and braces, would I have welcomed boys in my classes? No. I was quite content, thank you very much, with my cotton-wool-wrapped Friday night outing to bible studies. This was when I mingled with the well-groomed Greek Randwick boys. And when I say mingle, I mean sitting alone, in the front row, completely out of my depth, feeling awkward, self-conscious, ridiculous.

A few years later, I joined an ad agency as a junior copywriter. My “classmates” here were loud, confident, unapologetic creative types. Surviving (and thriving) in this pressure cooker co-ed world required more strength, resilience and self-possession than I had the EQ for.

Mixed-gender classrooms inspire a level of equilibrium that’s impossible to replicate in a single-sex environment. The “distractions” argument holds no sway. When selecting a high school for my eldest son, I insisted on single-sex lest my boy lock eyes with a temptress over calculus and lose his mind. I’ve since discovered where there’s a will, there’s a (hormone-fuelled) way.

The community meltdown we’ve seen play out this week is neither mature nor helpful. And while I appreciate that Randwick Girls staff aren’t at liberty to comment publicly, I hope calm heads will prevail and the gratuitous outrage is tempered with a more grounded perspective on the positives – and power – of co-ed schooling.

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I leave you with the grand irony in this noisy debate: a bright yellow motto that flaps in the breeze on Randwick Girls High School’s front gates: Girls Inspired to Innovate.

Innovate: To change. Introduce new ideas. Adapt. Grow.

Randwick Girls, embody your brand. Welcome the change with optimism. Demonstrate the leadership your school has nurtured in you and uplift every student in the Randwick school community – not just the girls.

Imagine what would happen if the energy used to generate the furore was harnessed to innovate and collaborate with a boys school excited to evolve?

Phyllis Foundis is a Sydney-based author, radio host, speaker and recovering copywriter with 30+ years’ experience. Her book, Unmanageable, is out in February. Follow her on Instagram: @phyllisfoundis