Three single-sex high schools will now start admitting both boys and girls after the government approved the change.

Chatham Grammar, Fort Pitt Grammar School and Holcombe Grammar School in Medway will become coeducational from September 2026.

The change was first suggested in April 2022 and was expected to come into effect from next September.

However, following consultations with parents that same year, the Department for Education (DfE) intervened in July 2023 and postponed any decision.

Further consultations took place last December and January this year, which pushed back the proposed start date to September 2025.

The decision on whether girls’ schools Fort Pitt Grammar and Chatham Grammar, as well as Holcombe Grammar, a boys’ school, could become co-educational has been referred to the DfE’s South East Advisory Council.

But on April 18, they decided to refer it to the Minister of Education have the last word.

The DfE has now confirmed that the plans will continue and schools will become mixed from September 2026.

The council had argued that the move would provide more places in the city’s selective schools for boys, as there would not be enough girls to fill the number of places allocated to them.

Currently, once children in Medway have been offered their places at the school, additional places at girls’ grammar schools are offered to pupils who live outside of Medway.

It is hoped that the move to mixed education will mean more city children will be offered a place at a local selective school.

Additionally, the council believes that by creating more grammar places it could help ease the pressure for places at non-selective schools.

And it says the change will also mean boys’ and girls’ places will be more evenly distributed across Medway, meaning pupils will not have to travel as far.

Peter Read, a former secondary school principal and education expert in Kent, questioned the project and challenged the lack of high school places for boys.

Following today’s (November 5) announcement, Mr Read said he was neither in favor nor opposed to the idea, but believed there were bigger issues at hand. to treat.

He said: “It makes sense from some points of view, Chatham Grammar is struggling to attract enough Medway girls to fill and Holcombe Grammar has the same thing with boys.

“Opening them both means they can take in more Medway children, rather than hiring children from outside Medway to fill these places.

“What has interested me for three years is this lack of interest from parents of children likely to go to one of these schools. I would like to know what they think about it.”

“But right now there are a variety of education concerns that I would have thought were much more important.”

He also agreed with the council’s assessment that creating more selective school places in Medway would reduce pressure on non-selective places.

But he says recent Medway test results showed there was no shortage of places for boys, as was previously cited to justify the move.

In a joint statement, the three schools said: “We are delighted to receive a positive decision from the DfE and know that moving our schools to a co-educational model will ensure a more equal balance between high school places for boys and girls and support the council’s wider efforts to relieve pressure on school places across Medway.

“We would like to thank everyone who participated in the consultation and who allowed us to make the best decision for our community and for the young people of this area.

“This represents an important moment for every school and we are confident that this decision will only improve the education provided in our schools and prepare our students for the modern world.

“We are now working with local authorities, our staff, families, students and each other to ensure a smooth transition. »

Cllr Tracy Coombs, Medway Council’s education portfolio manager, said: “I’m really pleased that these three great schools are now on the verge of becoming coeducational. This is a progressive step that will benefit all Medway children.

“I would also like to thank the DfE for approving this decision. This will help us to provide greater access to places in secondary schools and, in doing so, ensure that there are enough places for pupils of all academic levels in all secondary schools across Medway.

Medway has six grammar schools, of which the three subject to these proposals will now join Rainham Mark as co-educational schools.

Two others will remain single-sex. These are the Rochester Grammar School, for girls, and the Mathematical School of Sir Joseph Williamson, for boys.