How will our boys meet girls? This is the most frequent question parents ask when they tour Hale School. It is fair to wonder how a boys’ school environment could prepare their sons for not only meeting but building positive relationships with girls.
Fortunately, we believe we offer the best of both worlds by intentionally combining our focus on boys’ learning needs alongside our Connections program. The latter provides opportunities for Hale students across every year group to be involved in programs with female students from our partner schools.
On a regular basis our prefect body meet with their equivalent at our sister school, St Mary’s. In these sessions they share practice across both schools, discuss topical issues, and plan for events. Our Respectful Relationships seminar with Perth College brings together Year 12 students to promote respect and equality, and strengthen them to build healthy relationships. Across Years 10 and 11 our students have the opportunity to engage in co-curricular learning experiences such as cooking and woodwork with students form St Mary’s and St Hilda’s.
Year 7 to 9 boys have the opportunity to collaborate and socialise with girls from St Mary’s, St Hilda’s and Perth College through structured activities that aim to enhance communication skills and broaden opportunities for connections with like-minded students. An inclusion to our Connections program this year has been joining with St Hilda’s as part of their Year 9 Wandering Spirit program. This has given our boys an opportunity to network beyond their immediate spheres, whilst improving communication and collaboration skills.
Hale School offers a range of activities in the senior years with other schools, from tours such as the Leeuwin Ocean Adventure and Kokoda Trek, to music and drama groups. With this array of experiences on offer there is something for everyone to explore an area of passion whilst expanding their peer network.
The younger boys in the Junior School connect with their friends at St Mary’s for play dates, learning exchanges and competitions. Offering opportunities for the students to share fun activities is conducive to fostering friendships in a non-pressured environment.
At Hale, we aim to educate boys to become respectful, resilient and responsible young men. Our focus as a single-sex school is to give boys access to opportunities in and out of the classroom that both play to their strengths and challenge them outside of their comfort zone. We consider our approach to educating boys as an ideal option to get the best out of them.
Interacting with students from other schools helps our boys to develop better communication and social skills, which lead to more well-rounded individuals who are comfortable working and socialising with others.
