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Original poster

How many hours HW/night in Yr 7...and how do you help them tackle it?

89 replies

Solo2 · 14/10/2011 19:43

DTs - currently in Yr 6 - get about 1 hour's homework a night but a lot of that can be spread into the w/e too.

In Yr 7, the official number of hour's homework/night will be 2 hours every night, with an average of 3 subjects per night. There will still be some flexibility over the week/ w/e but it looks as if most children do end up doing the full 2 hrs per night to manage the work load (this is a v academic school BTW, so none of this is a surprise).

I was wondering if this was about average in terms of numbers of hrs/night for 11 yr olds? I was also wondering how best to support my twin sons with this volume of work (which wouldn't include additional musical instrument practice each night as well - in theory!)?

Currently in Yr 6, one DT is largely independent now, able to focus on organising his work, getting it done but is still often tired and needs to leave some till the w/e. So it mounts up. Other DT needs much more support in terms of getting down to it, presenting it in an acceptable way (slapdash/ get away with minimal effort sort of boy, as many are!) and staying 'on task'. Lots of w/es are taken up with homework staggered across the entire w/e and nothing much else and it's only going to get harder.

Occasionally, both get homework (usually maths) that they struggle with and need my support and can easily take 2 full hrs to do that homework alone on one night, although they're supposed to stop at one hr really.

I'm trying to plan for the following year when they're in the senior part of the school and wonder how others support their DCs (especially boys) at that stage? Do you force them to get it done from the minute they arrive home - or have a break first and some food? If we do that now, then they get too tired to tackel it later and so it mounts up and takes over the w/e.

Tell me your typical experiences with 11 yr olds and how to help them manage at least 2 hrs work after school - and possibly after an evening club too?

OP posts:
seeker · 15/10/2011 14:22

As I said on the other thread, I would be very worried about a school where they appear to get so little work done during the day that 10/11 year old's have to do 2 hours homework a night. My dd is also at a highly academic school, and is predicted As and A*s at GCSE, and doesn't do that much homework in year 11, never mind in year 7

Original poster
Solo2 · 15/10/2011 14:16

Thanks ragged. He's having a much better year this year for various reasons (better form teacher/ new social group of friends/ success in extracurricular area) but I'm still watching how things go. Current issue for me is much more to do with continuing to afford the ever increasing school fees and juggle the needs of the DTs/ my business and the puppy dog too!

OP posts:
JordanBaker · 15/10/2011 13:27

But DD is at a very successful school and she certainly wasn't doing 2 hours a night in Y7. So I'm not convinced that excessive homework and great results go together, certainly not in Y7-9.
Your original question is basically saying 'how can they get through this much homework and still have a (normal early-teen) life?'. I'm not sure they can. Think you'll have to employ a dog-walker!

ragged · 15/10/2011 13:01

iirc, you've posted loads before Solo, worrying that one of your DTs isn't coping well with the pressure. I hope it all pans out ok.

Original poster
Solo2 · 15/10/2011 11:55

Well this is what you buy into if you go to that school. So this is what we accept and the results are at the top of the league tables for co-ed schools. So no one would send their child there if they didn't already know that academic success is what you're paying for. Doesn't mean that it's easy for them to do so much HW but it does cultivate good organisational skills by the end of schooling. I can only wait and see how it pans out for my DCs.

OP posts:
3kids2many · 15/10/2011 11:29

My year 7 gets 2 hours homework a night.
Some of his friends cope with it by doing homework on the school bus or in the car on the way home if the journey is long. We limit activities to 2 a week.
Every moment of the evening is planned.
On activity days snack in car and straight to work when home. Non activity days snack and relax 1 hour. 5pm-Practise one musical instrument, 5-30 do 1 hours homework, 6-30 supper and relax 1 hour, 7-30 other musical instrument, 8pm 1 hours homework 9pm shower and bed.
Most nights he manages to do his homework in less time, I do not stress about the quality. I leave it to the teachers to state their standard and tell him if it is not good enough. I never let him do more than 2 hours. He does 2 hours one day of the weekend. he has always had lots of homework, and is a happy boy. About once a week he will chose to have a night off instrument practise and play with the neighbours. He and his brother have a joint study room there is a fair bit of horse play and they help each other prepare for tests. The timetable is their idea and if they vary it I don't stress the only thing imposed is bed at 9.

ragged · 15/10/2011 10:31

One or Two Hours a night? [hshock]

DS is in y7 at a tiny independent school (gets better results than most local state schools) and he has no more than 10 minutes a night.
I know he's under-challenged at the moment, but I'm okay about it for all sorts of reasons.
I have heard that 15-20 min/night is typical of our local state school y7s.

What the Fig are they doing with their 6 hours/day on school premises that the children still have to do another 1-2 hours/night at home? Confused

If they do 1-2 hours/night in y7, how much will they be expected to do at home in yrs 10-11? 20 hrs/week of homework?

CecilyP · 15/10/2011 08:51

That seems a lot of homework for Y7, especially when it is even longer if they don't understand the maths that they were supposed to have learned during the day.

If they have after school clubs until 6,30, the logistics don't work. Home at 6.30, supper till 7.00, work till 9.00, dogwalk till 10.00 - bed at 8.30. Can't be done. Either they will have to give up the clubs, or go to bed much later. As they get older, they can forego the dogwalk. The only other way round it would be if much of the work can be spread over till the weekend.

Original poster
Solo2 · 15/10/2011 05:50

Thanks for the feedback. DTs have been used to having a lot of homework since age 4. So as it increases each year, it doesn't feel so much different to before. However, we've been 'warned' by other families who've gone from the prep. to the senior part of the school, that Yr 7 demands quite a lot more, although I think for the first halfterm there's a gradual increase.

It's the logistics of fitting it in that worries me a bit. If they finish the day at 4pm, we'll be home by about 4.35pm - so that's manageable - but if they do any after school clubs, (which most children do and they'll want to do) this would mean arriving home around 6.30pm. Currently, they go to bed at 8.00pm to 8.30pm and we also fit in a one hour dog walk (too young to leave DTs at home in the evening, so they have to come with me - solo mum) and supper.

I suppose in a year's time they'll have matured further and maybe it'll all work out. I remember doing 5 hrs homework after school but not till O level and A level stage and there were no after school activities then.

OP posts:
blossomhillontapplease · 14/10/2011 20:24

My dd has just started yr7. she gets about 8 - 10 pieces of homework a week. at first she found this quite demanding. Bearing in mind she hasnt been in school long. We have agreed that she should aim to do at least two pieces of homework a night. tbh some only take 5 mins.........finish diagrams read a piece of text etc. If she gets any homework due in for the same week that takes priority over others. If she has two pieces which only take a short while i suggest she does another piece. I have to keep reminding her though that once she has finished she can do what she pleases Smile

She gets home relatively early so I allow her to have an hour or so to wind down and eat me out of house and home - i've no idea where she puts it Hmm

She then has about 2hrs for home work and then she can go out with friends. Shes ok with this but i'm sure this is going to change once boys become more important Grin

I dont feel you can really prepare them for the homework routine theyre going to have as at primary my dd didnt get a lot at all - if any!

mycatsaysach · 14/10/2011 20:20

dd spent ages (least 2 hours per night) on her homework in yr 7 - she was a real perfectionist and a bit concerned re new school etc.she was told at her first parents evening she was doing way too much when i mentioned it to her tutor.she now very rarely does any at all at home (yr 10).she now seems to do it all at break or on the bus Hmm .

troisgarcons · 14/10/2011 20:17

An hour a night for Y6's?Never heard of anything so heavy before.

Y7 - £ hours was touted but in reality it was more like hour and a half with a a fir bit of project work that could be done quite rapidly with the correct mindset.

2marys · 14/10/2011 20:12

that's a huge amoun IMOt. DS is at a reasonably academic school where admittedly most of the entrants are in year 7 so they let them in lightly, but so far as i recall it was only 1 hr per night, and even now, year 9, it's still about 1 hr 40 mins. i think their theory is that DSs have limited concentration span at home and they prefer to work them incredibly hard during lessons. But on the other hand, two other schools - one a grammar and one a comprehensive - both give large amounts of homework even in year 7.

JordanBaker · 14/10/2011 20:07

Blimey, that seems like a lot for Y7. My DD is in Y9, also at a v v academic school and is only scheduled 11/2-2 hrs/night. And it doesn't usually take that long (although she does leave some for weekends).

I made a conscious decision when she started at her school in Y7 that I would not get involved with her homework. Obviously I'll test her before exams or proof read her essays if she asks me to, but otherwise I want her to take responsibility for it. I think this is important at secondary school and tbh if she needed much more input than that I'd question if it was the right school for her.

In my experience though DC do change/mature a lot between Y6 & Y7, so hopefully your DC will be working more independently by the time they move up