Summer holiday (state school) is 7 1/2 weeks this year!

[Tinker]

How fab is that? Can't remember it ever being this long

[Ponders]

Not round here it isn't, Tink - they mostly broke up on Friday, some don't finish until this week, & they'll be back at school c Wed 2nd Sept (teachers even earlier). You are lucky!

[LovelyRitaMeterMaid]

Where's that? In Bedfordshire it's 6 and a bit weeks. A friend of mine in Swindon only has 5 weeks I think.

[Tinker]

Broke up last Friday and don't start back until Thursday 10 Sept. North West. This is secondary only, primary finish this Friday. Can I you tell I work term-time only?

[filchthemildmanneredjanitor]

mine break up this friday and go back on the 8th i think? how lng is that?

[Tinker]

6.5 weeks. Nearly.

[Clary]

We don't break up till weds and then we are due back on Sept 3.

That's exactly 6 weeks.

Tho actually we have 2 insets, but plenty of schools are going back on the Thursday.

And the secondary local to us breaks up on Friday actually.

All of you reaking up on - July 17??? Waaaaaay early!

[Clary]

lol @ working term time Tink.

Them's the hours I need {grin]

(Tho I understand fine well that the pay matches them )

[zazen]

My DD gets two weeks holiday: mid august to september - suits us as we work F/T, and that's all the hols we will take.

Next year she goes to a different school which has a three month holiday: end of may to beginning of september and my summer camp and afterschool care are going to be horrendously expensive.

I don't see why school hols are so long - we don't need the children to help with the harvest these days!

[nappyaddict]

Ours broke up 17th and go back the 7th.

[mankyscotslass]

Ours don't finish til tomorrow and go back on the 2nd September.

[bigchris]

we go back mon 7th, trachers go back the wednesday after the bank holiday, the 3rd i think

[EachPeachPearMum]

2 weeks zazen? Is it a music school, or other specialism?

[Blackduck]

fab is not the word I'd use..... seven weeks here too and as far as I am concerned its too bl**dy LONG...I know that by week five we will all be wanting to kill each other..... I'd sooner have more, shorter, holidays or even an extra week at christmas which always whizzes by in a stress-induced blur.

[LunarSea]

7.5 weeks here (Warwickshire) too. Broke up last Friday, back 8th September. Hardly any holiday activities on around here this week or the last full week of the break though as neighbouring Coventry seem to have a week less and are both breaking up and going back midweek.

[Wilts]

Yep like LovelyRitaMeterMaid says I am in Swindon and we get less than six weeks this year.

[roisin]

Tinker - that's a late start back? Are you here? New Academy? Town starts with B?

[hippipotamiHasLost49lbs]

Dd (state infant school)has exactly 6 weeks and 1 day (the one day is an inset day)
Ds (state junior school) has 6 weeks and 3 days, he broke up last Friday as the school had scheduled 3 inset days for this week.

7 and a half weeks seems super long!!

[blametheparents]

7 weeks for DS (17 July til 7 Sept)
8 weeks for DD (17 July til 14 Sept)
TBF she is starting Reception and although the school goes back Reception do not start until a week later.

[cory]

This is a big cultural difference between here and Sweden where I am just setting off for the summer holidays. They have eight weeks, and I've never heard anyone say it's too long. Their take is that children ought to spend every minute of their holiday out of doors and where is the point of that in November, so holidays should be long in the summer when the weather's good.

Naturally, working parents struggle a bit, but there are clubs that stay open; also, children look after themselves from a much younger age, so less of a burden on the family purse.

But they just don't seem to have that attitude that families get fed up with each other. Here even SAHMs seem to struggle with having their children around for very long. Is it because it is more difficult to find them somewhere to play out of doors? I suppose it must be. We have a lovely park round here, easily accessible and no bad roads to get there: yet ds (9) doesn't have a single friend who would be allowed to go there with him and kick a ball around without being constantly watched by an adult. Which makes holidays hard work even if you are SAHM. But it's hard to change the attitudes of a whole society.

[newpup]

Break up on Friday 24th here, although DDs off with the dreaded flu at the moment.

Go back on Friday 4th sept, seems a bit daft to go back on a Friday!

[Builde]

Lucky you.

We only have 5 1/2 weeks and I need a holiday from school.

I think most of our inset days were added to half terms and Easter holidays.

[Tinker]

Roisin - no, not an Academy and not where you are. I think what happens here is that every 5 or 6 years, an extra week is added because (I think) the summer hols are always slighter shorter for the other years. It's worked out this much because scondary finishs a week earlier than primary as well (eldest is Yr 7) so am getting max holidays.

The use of "fab" is in relation to me, I must say. However, am having one week off with my eldest this week and, Day 2, there have been no rows. A first. Very calm, no tension. Yet...

[faraday]

cory- good point: I do think the issue is DCs just aren't allowed out and about in the UK thus we mums have to ENTERTAIN them just to keep them from each others necks for longer!

To be honest I don't like long holidays: I'd much prefer 2 or 3 weeks at Whitsun (the 'half term' holiday in June) and 3-4 weeks now, especially with younger DCs. Both mine had to practically redo a term every Sept to catch up again in Y1 and 2!

I'd rather see 4-6 even length terms with a week off here and there throughout the year myself.

[Tinker]

We get 2 weeks at Whit and usually 5 1/2 weeks at summer (primary only)

[PestoSchoolsOutMonster]

It's exactly 6 weeks here. They break up today and go back on 2nd September.