All-boys Montfort Junior School to admit girls from 2028

All-boys Montfort Junior School (MJS) will admit girls from 2028, with the first cohort being eligible to apply for the 2027 Primary 1 registration exercise, according to a Straits Times (ST) report on Mar. 5.

By 2034 or earlier, Montfort Secondary School (MSS) will also become co-educational.

On Mar. 4, parents and alumni were told of this change during a townhall with school management at its Hougang campus.

Responding to queries from Mothership, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Mar. 5 that it has been informed of St Gabriel's Foundation's (SGF) plans and is in implementation discussions.

They also said more information will be shared by SGF and MJS when ready.

Principal of Montfort Junior School, Victor Tan said the school had informed MOE, and will share more details when ready.

Parents and alumni raised concerns

According to ST, parents and alumni raised concerns about the transition, but the school leaders assured them of pastoral support, adjustments to pedagogy and upgrades to the school's infrastructure.

Montfort's leadership also reportedly said that co-education helps foster diversity, emotional intelligence, communication skills and mutual respect amongst the student population.

ST reported that Dennis Ho, a member of the Montfort School Management Committee and Chairperson of the Montfort Co-Ed Taskforce, said that co-ed discussions started in 2019.

Parents and alumni who spoke to ST said they were not surprised by the announcement due to falling birthrates and the trend of other schools becoming co-educational.

Co-ed

Montfort joins an increasing number of single-gender schools that have become co-educational in recent years.

This includes Canossa Convent Primary, which used to be an all-girls school till 2019.

Institutions that are preparing for the co-educational transition include all-boys Maris Stella High School from 2027 and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) from 2030 when it relocates to Tengah.

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Top photo from Roland Tan/Google Maps and Montfort Junior School/Google Maps