High school lunch starting at 1.45pm

[Bagpuss2022]

I have had two older sons go through this high school and no issues and one has chronic health issues that required a lot of support they have been brilliant.
however since this year my y8 daughter has lunch at 1.45pm she then has afternoon season of half a hour 2.15pm til 2.45 then finishes she’s said she feels faint she has a big breakfast and a snack at 11.30but surly kids shouldn’t be expected to eat lunch at 1.45pm?? My son is type 1 diabetic he went to this school but it was normal 12.30 times for lunch this is ridiculous I think

What time do they start school?

Assuming she can eat up until about 8:30 then 13:45 shouldn’t be an issue if there are no health issues? Especially with a snack at 11:30

It's a good idea on the whole to have a shorter afternoon, as performance in lessons is often far lower in the afternoon than in the morning.

What could help her is to have something more substantial than a snack in her morning break and maybe keep something in her bag for the way home.

Your right but if I ate at 13.45 a substantial meal I wouldn’t want to eat till about 7/8pm you can’t honestly think it’s normal for a school to have lunch at 1.45pn with just 39 mins then go home?!

You have raised 2 different issues. Is the problem she feels faint or is the problem it pushes the evening meal back? Its a bit odd yes but I would just be happy she gets 30 minutes I have kids at 2 different secondary schools and one gets 15 minutes the other gets 20. They dont have time to eat their food by the time they have queued for it.

I thought your issue was that she felt feint by lunch? What has an evening meal time got to do with it?

Of course having lunch at 1.45pm isn't OK

I have kids at 2 different secondary schools and one gets 15 minutes the other gets 20. They dont have time to eat their food by the time they have queued for it

This also isn't ok

She has a big breakfast and a snack at 11.30am and feels faint by 1.45pm? Perhaps the school has to accommodate several sittings and her class is the last one.

Yes but you can't tackle that by just moving lunch back and still calling it morning. I'm sure performance dips considerably when you're hungry.

OP the obvious answer is she eats more at 11.30. How long a break is it?

Well she has low blood sugar issues and she does two high energy after school activities multiple days and it’s impacting on attainment I can’t believe people think it’s normal to have lunch so late and you finish 30 mins later like I said my boys went there and had “normal lunch times between 12-1pm. 1.45 is not normal

So have you contacted the school to enquire about it? If not that would surely be the obvious next step.

Is she not able to eat a quick snack like a cereal bar to keep her going in between lessons? Or during lessons if there's a medical reason teachers may allow.

Yea I have but what the main question was is a 1.45pm lunch “normal” maybe that’s what I should of done a poll on

At work we are encouraged to take our half hour break with a start of between 12 and 2.

Hardly anyone goes at 12 and some people leave it until 2.

I try and leave mine until 2 and my core hours are 8-4. It makes the afternoon fly.

I really don’t see why it would be an issue if it’s always the same time. You just develop a routine to suit.

Yes, I agree, it's too late.
I wouldn't like to be the teacher having them period 4 or 5, for the hour before that late lunch. They'd be flagging. I speak from experience.

Also, that ridiculous short afternoon? So no PE or practical lessons then? So those subjects always get the best morning slots? That's unfair.

Your not a child .. you can’t go from eating lunch at 11.45pm/12 to 1.45 then finishing 30 mins later one it messes up the kids and two they have a family that has set meals planned also blood sugar issues she has all the markers on the type one test so it’s not if it’s when

Probably the problem is that break won’t be for long, so by the time they’ve gone to the toilet there won’t be much time to eat.

It isn’t ideal to be honest. It’s a very long morning, and a late lunch.

When I was a teenager I had retail Saturday and holiday jobs where the lunch break could be any time between 11.30am and 2pm.

Do her blood sugar issues mean that she has to eat at a specific time?

My dd had a late seating last year. This year she eats lunch at 10:30am. The lunchroom just can’t accommodate all the students at a traditional lunchtime.

The teachers are really good about allowing students who have a poorly placed lunch to set up snacking permission during one of their classes.

My child’s starts school at 8.30 and has lunch from 1.30 til 2.00, so only slightly earlier than yours. They do have a normal length lesson lasting over an hour afterwards though. It seems to be the norm for lots of schools as my friends kids and nieces/nephews have lunch at a similar time too. 3 lessons before lunch and 1 lesson after seems to be common.

Not sure that’s really comparable though. There are pretty strict laws relating to children at work for this very reason. Not sure of exact details but twelve or thirteen year olds wouldn’t be expected to work all
morning with only a fifteen/twenty minute break.

I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world, but I can see it’s a long, long morning and probably not very conducive to learning.

My ds has 20 minutes at 1:30pm. His school has staggered sittings for each year group with youngest before noon.

Twenty minutes is horrible for staff and students, really.

I definitely couldn't wait until 1.45pm to eat, that lunch time is ridiculous, definitely raise it with the school. If the kids are hungry then they won't be able to concentrate in class. Young, active growing teens need food and can get a lot hungrier than adults.

Your DD has a break at 11.30, so why can't she eat lunch then and just have a snack later? Tbh I'd be more concerned that even with breakfast and a snack your DD is feeling faint by 1.45pm. She clearly isn't eating the right kind of things if 2 meals in 6hrs isn't enough to stop her feeling faint.

I used to live and work in Spain where a 1.45pm lunch would be perfectly normal. I worked in primary so our hours were 9am-1/1.30pm (1pm for kindergarten and reception because the littles would have lunch, a nap and playtime; 1.30pm for the older kids as they just had lunch and playtime) with a break at 11.30-11.45 where children would bring their breakfast snack and then back to class from 3-4:30/5. The high school was almost the same they just started earlier so their day would be 8.30am-1pm (break at 10.40-11) and then 3pm-5pm.

Even when my DD first started school at 3 and was doing 9-5, she was more than fine with breakfast at 8.30, "breakfast snack" at 11.30 and lunch at 1pm (then a snack straight after school at 4.30pm and dinner at 6:30/7ish) so I can't see why your teen DD can't manage.

I also live in a Mediterranean country and DC age 3 is served his cooked lunch at daycare at 2pm. They eat “breakfast” (sandwich and raw veggies) at about 10. Suggest sending a more substantial snack if she’s not making it to 1:45, particularly something with slow release energy.