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Story: Primary and secondary education

Separating boys and girls

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Separating boys and girls

Although most state primary schools and many secondary schools were co-educational, the Victorian belief that it was wrong to allow boys and girls to mix too freely led to attempts to keep them apart at school. At Helensville Manual Training and Technical School, for instance, there were separate boys' and girls' entrances in 1912. The girls' entrance can be seen on the building in front.

Using this item

Auckland Council Libraries − Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Reference: 35-R577

by Frederick George Radcliffe

Permission of Auckland City Libraries Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Primary and secondary education – Numbers and types of schools, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/36660/separating-boys-and-girls (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 29 May 2012.