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Original poster

Teachers:how disastrous would it be to go on holiday for the whole of the xmas holiday in year 12

32 replies

bourboncreme · 16/02/2010 15:06

We may have the opportunety to visit my brother and family in africa over xmas next year ,we haven't been before for various reasons and db and dsil are very keen for us to go out,the boys would love it and it would be great for them to spend some time with their cousins etc.We can't go in summer times becaiuse that is db's busy work season plus sil is from USA and always goes home for a month.We can't go at easter because that would be too difficult given ds1s exam schedule.

Ds1 will be in year 12 hopefully doing 4 subjects (GCSEs allowing)english,history,philosophy and RE he will have exams in the January,are we being foolish to even consider it?We would probably go the day they break up 17/12 nad back at NYear.Hopefully spend sometime with db at their house but also fit in safari and possibly Vic Fals .It just feels very sad if we can't go becasue of exams for ds but i wouldn't want to spoil things for him.

Realistically how much do you expect them to work over the xmas break?

OP posts:
Original poster
bourboncreme · 16/02/2010 17:15

cant go in summer as db will be out on site,he is a geologist,one reason why sil goes home.Good point about arts subjects.will check that out.

OP posts:
webwiz · 16/02/2010 16:51

Are you sure he will have exams in the Jan? - for subjects like English and History schools normally wait in till the June as its difficult to cover enough material and get exam technique sorted out in time for Jan. In fact I know for the board that DD2 does for History they have stated that the Jan session should be for resits only. I would check first as the "arts" students at DD2's sixth form haven't taken any exams yet but the science/maths people have.

titchy · 16/02/2010 16:40

Sorry no advice - but I read the thread title as 'How disastrous would it be to go on holiday at Christmas WITH THE WHOLE OF YEAR 12'

sarah293 · 16/02/2010 16:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

hocuspontas · 16/02/2010 16:24

Not a teacher but dd1(yr13) spent the whole of Christmas 2008 studying. Exams were pretty much straight after term started.

compo · 16/02/2010 16:20

I would go in the summer after the exams
can't sil just for once move the time she goes to her family's ?

Loshad · 16/02/2010 16:13

I'm a science teacher, and my heart always drops when students tell me they'll be away for the whole of the holidays. It handicaps them considerably. The exams start nearly as soon as term does, and ours are worth 30% of their final mark - a huge amount if you do badly. I (and my coleagues) expect the students to do a lot of work over the holidays, revision and i set practice papers/specimen questions as well. We tend to say to them things along the lines of it's 2 years without proper christmas/easter breaks - the benefits are for the rest of their lives as the grades will determine who does medicine/law/gets into a decent uni etc.