Lola Okolosie makes a compelling argument for the remodelling of school holidays (I’m a teacher, and even I think we should cut the long school summer holidays, 23 November). For many young people, an extended academic break can be damaging to their learning. I’ve been teaching in secondary schools for more than 16 years and agree with many of the points raised in her article.
As teachers, we know the pressures facing families in 2023 and in recent years. We see first-hand the impacts of government cuts to social services and youth mental health support, and the impact of cruel employment regulations such as zero-hours contracts. We know that for many young people and their carers, the six-week holiday is an unpleasant time. Because of this, I worry that any discussions regarding changes to the school calendar in England will be dominated by issues surrounding childcare. This is a legitimate concern, but is the problem caused by the length of the school holidays, or one created by crumbling support networks for families and carers?
In an ideal world, the summer holidays would be filled with free and subsidised activities for young people to participate in. Youth clubs would be open and full of well-paid workers. Volunteering opportunities and work experience would be available to help bridge the gap between young people and the working world. Summer schools would be funded with free school meals. There’s a model where our school holidays can be seen as an opportunity for young people to spread their wings and explore a world beyond being sat behind a desk. If you shorten the summer holiday, you might get less of a break in learning, but at what cost?
Putu Winchester
Sheffield
The idea of a shorter summer holiday has been around for years and has been tried by many schools. It was called the “six-term year” in past decades. There would be benefits: that’s why schools keep trying it. Unfortunately, there are also problems and they outweigh the benefits. That’s why schools keep dropping the idea.
In the school where I taught, the reason it was dropped was that swapping a week in sunny August for one in cold, wet November was not a fair swap. Nobody liked it – not the staff, not the management, not the parents and certainly not the students. Adding a week to the May half-term simply breaks up learning during the most crucial exam preparation period. I also think that there would be a negative impact on parents who have to fight over precious leave weeks in a smaller window in the summer.
Tim Powell
Cockermouth, Cumbria
By all means shorten the long summer break, but make sure those trimmed-off weeks stay in or close to the summer months of June, July and August. Late October is frequently cold, dark and wet in the UK, and, as families in areas that have already gone down this road know, school holidays at this time of year are often pretty grey and miserable affairs.
School holidays need to be seen in a wider context than educational attainment: time outdoors in parks, gardens and the countryside in summer means vitamin D, mental wellbeing and engaging with nature. Holidays abroad in October may be warm and cheaper, but they are only accessible to families with higher incomes, and encourage air travel, which contributes to climate change.
Juliet Woodin
Nottingham
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