The issue of the possible contribution of single-sex schools to girls' academic achievements is part of an historical debate about relations between the sexes within the education system and of immediate topical importance to policy makers in the educational sphere. The present paper examines the relationships between the social origins of girls, their views of their own abilities, their high school curricula, their teachers' encouragement and their actual academic achievements within both single-sex and mixed high schools. This examination is based upon a sample of 1286 Queensland Grade 12 students attending different types of schools. Complex patterns of relationships among these variables are found which appear to operate differently in each school type. Of par ticular interest is the impact of a working mother upon her daughter's achievements within different types of schools.
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