text: Teenage girls do better in single sex schools as they can focus on their work rather than impressing boys, a leading headmistress says. Rhiannon Wilkinson, head of Wycombe Abbey in Buckinghamshire reportedly said that a 'boy free' environment stops girls from being held back by the opposite sex, who are known to mature slower. She also suggested that single-sex boarding schools give pupils relief and protection from the 'highly sexualised world' and allow them to 'remain girls for longer.' 'My wide educational experience in both mixed and girls' schools has shown me clearly that girls are best served educationally in their teenage years in a boy-free work environment,' she said according to the Telegraph. Rhiannon Wilkinson, the head of Wycombe Abbey in Buckinghamshire, pictured, claims a 'boy free' environment allows teenage girls to focus on their work . She added: 'In co-ed environments lots of girls when adolescence kicks want to be liked by boys not just for their intelligence and want to be popular with boys. But she said in all girl environments pupils are 'free from that,' according to the Telegraph. Two years ago Scientists at Newcastle University found that girls really do mature faster than boys. They discovered that as the brain matures it begins to 'prune' information that is stored and focus on what is important. Tony Little, head at Eton College, has previously said that single sex schools allow children to retain their 'innocence' For girls this can happen as early as 10 years old, but for boys it can take until between 15 and 20 for the same. Tony Little, the head of Eton College, has also spoken of the benefits of single sex schools. He said they allow children to retain their 'innocence' and be 'themselves' for longer. 'What does strike me is that in a single-sex environment, particularly at the age of 13, 14, 15, there is an opportunity for both boys and girls to be themselves for longer. To be 'boyish' for longer, to be young girls,' he said, according to the BBC. Boys could also benefit from being taught separately. Statistics have shown that boys often lag behind girls at both GCSE and A-level and are much less likely to apply to university. Alun Jones, the first male president of the Girls' Schools Association, has previously called for teenage boys  to be taught in single sex classes in state schools. Mr Jones, who is also a schools inspector, said: 'If you have a very bright, very driven, very focused, very articulate lady, which a lot of girls are, that intimidates a boy in the classroom, especially boys of average ability. 'The result is that boys don't put their hands up to answer questions or they indulge in immature behaviour to avoid being shown up. Boys are falling behind as girls are doing better.'
target: 'Boy free' environment stops girls from being held back by opposite sex .
  Girls in single sex education don't have to worry about impressing boys .
  Comments made by head of Wycombe Abbey School in Buckinghamshire .
  Come after calls for boys to be taught separately in state schools .