The days of single-sex schools should be ‘numbered’, Newstalk Breakfast presenter Shane Coleman has said. 

He was speaking after a new study from the University of Limerick found there is “no evidence of an academic advantage” from attending a single-sex school.

Roughly one third of secondary schools in Ireland are single-sex and Shane wants that to change. 

“I don’t understand the argument for segregating kids,” he said. 

“We’re not segregated in any other aspect of life - why would we be segregating boys and girls in school? 

“You get both genders really comfortable with each other - I think that’s far healthier, I think it’s far more progressive. 

“I would go further; I think in the next 15 years, I think the Government should decree that all single-sex schools should be co-educational and I think the days of single-sex schools should be numbered.” 

Fellow presenter Ciara Kelly, who attended a mixed school herself, says she is not sure such a change would be popular among parents.

“Three out of my four kids went to mixed schools and I like it,” she said. 

“I do prefer the mixed school thing but I think parents, particularly in Ireland, have an emotional attachment to schools, a traditional attachment to schools and they like choice. 

“So, I don’t know if I would go as far as getting rid of it altogether.”

The study analysed the results of 5,000 pupils in over 150 schools and concluded that, once metrics such as socio-economic background and pupil-teacher ratio were factored in, the results of single-sex schools were commensurate to those of mixed schools.