To ask if non-British schools have assemblies?

They do in Hawaii (at least they did when I was 7- I asked my pen pall because it was a question of utmost importance).

In Australia, most schools have assemblies weekly. Although some private schools might differ.

I attend DD's occasionally (if she's getting a certificate) & think they're a waste of time & could easily be monthly. They seem to just fill the time with certificates for attentance & talking up sports.

YABU

I love clockwise and do not consider that John Cleese humiliates anyone in the assembly.

Regarding some of the previous comments about certificates and the problems they cause, I've only ever seen any angst over it on MN. In about 15 years of teaching no parent has ever spoken to me about it nor have I ever known a child to be upset. My own children have never been upset or disappointed. Celebration assembly is generally one of the most popular ones and children are just pleasantly surprised if they get a certificate.

Thankfully they don’t really do awards at either of my kids’ schools (in Scotland). Or… possible… my kids just don’t win any so I’ve never heard about it!

What's wrong with that? It is correct to some extent.

When non-british people read Harry Potter, we don't have to know what is fantasy and what is UK normal, there are so many peculiar and bizarre things there, for example:

• Boarding school with school houses.
• Two levels of awful single-day exams deciding your future.
• Writing exam "essays" instead of "tests" in knowledge-based subjects.
• Writing a single exam in the end of the year instead of regular smaller tests.
• Writing lengthy homework in knowledge-based subjects.

I didn't even notice the assembly thing there - every residential camp has some welcome speech and end speech and common meals, so it seemed natural in a boarding setting.

Also they don't have tutor time in Finland. In upper school they have a class teacher that is overall responsible for them but the only time they spend with that teacher is the first/last hour at the beginning/end of the school year and then whatever subject lessons they actually have with that teacher. Still seems to get to know them really well (but DD's school is very small, maybe they don't get to know them so well in bigger schools)

I teach secondary (non-faith, standard state school) and we have whole school assemblies for our 1300 pupils several times a year in the sports hall (old school hall only big enough for one year group!). Harvest, remembrance, Christmas, Easter and end of year.
ETA in England!

No weekly certificates or awards in Finland (thankfully, so no disappointed children wondering why they haven't been picked this week). Only awards come at the end of the year, in primary school for being the kindest/good friend in the class and in the last year for best grade point average, in upper school for grade point average each year, good friend example, and awards for various things like best technical work, or a writing award, or maths-natural sciences award (and these rewards are cash, not certificates)

Jesus Christ. Anyone getting information about schools from Harry Potter ...

I'm Czech.

No assembly.
No systematic school level awards or certificates. Btw, how they are described in MN, it sounds very weird - like something given sometimes based on merits and sometimes to encourage, plus all that observing who got one and who hadn't got one yet sounds very arbitrary amd annoying to me.

Our school life is organised within a class and classroom, meaning 20-30 pupils depending on age and school. Every class has a class teacher - at primary level this teacher is teaching majority of lessons, at secondary the teachers teaches one or two subjects plus is designated as a class teacher for one class. That means that this teacher starts the school year, hands over reports in the end of the year, is responsible for sharing school news, runs trips and would be the first contact for what is called "pastoral care" on MN.

The class teacher at primary level can run their own awards, but it would be resolved at the classroom.

There often is a school board, both physical and online, where secondary students read about updates.

I'm in Finland, just asked my DD and she says she thinks they had assemblies maybe once a month or two in primary school (though if it was a religious themed one she didn't go and went to a classroom with the other ethics students) and in upper school they only have them on special occasions (like this year there was one for the 100 years anniversary of the school). I'd ask DS who is currently in primary school how often they have them but he wouldn't remember, he doesn't even remember what he did the same day I ask him, let alone what he's done over the previous month but looking on the school website there's an event this month saying whole school gathering in hall.

Both schools can easily fit the whole school into the hall but finding a time when the whole school is actually in school at the same time is more difficult as timetables vary between classes so some classes might be in 8-12, and others might be 11-15, and others 10-14 so pretty much the only time they can be sure everyone is there is lunch time.

😂😂Love this

Same.

@Jappled I remember watching (just a few years ago) some footage of children in somewhere (possibly India) where all the children are lined up in the playground having some kind of test results given out loud.

Do countries without assemblies have certificates and awards that are handed out weekly? That's something that hasn't changed in the 30 years between me going to primary and my children attending.

A few references to starting the day with assembly but I've only ever attended and taught it schools where they've been at the end of the day.

@scalt I think the "humiliation" thing is gone in UK schools (thankfully).
At my daughter's primary (just a few years ago) a talking/fidgeting child might be told to move and sit next to their teacher but that was it.

I think the daily act of worship requirement is England and Wales ( not sure about NI) . Not a thing in Scotland even when I was at primary school 50 years ago. There was an assembly every week to cover general school announcements etc and sometimes the minister would be a guest. Also a school visit to church at Christmas and Easter ( at least that’s what my kids school did).

That wasn’t my experience growing up in Ireland - we had a daily whole-school assembly in primary school, which was a mixture of prayers and announcements, and a weekly year-group assembly in secondary. Both were state, Catholic schools.

My kids are in a multidenominational primary school now and have a whole-school assembly every few weeks, which seems to be a little chat from the principal on some theme, often a song and sometimes a visit from some outside personage (their favourite is when the Reading Dog is brought in to say hello).

Personally I rather enjoyed our senior school assemblies - we had a fantastic music teacher so there was always singing - and although I’m not in the least religious, I still love a lot of those old trad hymns.

At school, Scotland in the 1980s, we had weekly assemblies, usually a lecture about something specific.

the assemblies in Derry Girls are hysterical and illustrate the ra ra up the school / ritual humiliation theme nicely.

When I was at school - 80s, UK - there was even a radio assembly once a week that we would listen to once a week. I assume it was on Radio 4?

I was at church primary, secondary and (separate) sixth forms. Even at sixth form (no uniform, relaxed registration requirements) we had assemblies, once a month or so I think. They were often about things like crime, drugs, Remembrance Day, and whilst not compulsory they were scheduled at a time there wasn’t much else to do so they tended to have a good turnout.

Czechia. No assemblies ever. Doing it daily seems a massive waste of time.

We have stable classes (not forms) majority of the time. At secondary level every class have a class teacher, who in addition to teaching their subjects, does "class time" at the beginning of the term, end of term and as needed to discuss admin stuff, and manages residentials and so on.

The whole school announcements (rare) means everyone is in their own classroom and the head uses the school internal radio system to broadcast to every class, but it was mostly ceremonial (welcome to the school year) -practical things are managed by instructing class teachers.