Curious: Why do private schools have such long holidays?

[Erebus]

Genuine question- I mean, I know why state schools hols are what they are, more or less (helping with harvests... etc) but why the 8 or 9 weeks, for example, in private? How did that come about? There must be an historic reason seeing as they all pretty much do the same thing, with 17 weeks holiday a year.

My grandfather went to boarding school in 1914, and he always maintained that the very long holidays were to allow boarders to get home and back.
Bearing in mind that air travel didn't exist for civilians for the most part, I think he was probably right.

The nearest comp to our house (34% A - C GCSE) ends around 2.50 every day. My children (primary age) end around 4 but on many days if the child chooses there are after school activities until 5.

I really enjoyed school holidays and I think children get a lot out of them. I am happy that my 5 who are/were at fee paying schools had long holidays.
Also none of mine got exhausted in term time working to 4pm (and none had Saturday school and were at top 20 day schools).

Perhaps the teachnig is better too.

In the UK parents have a choice as to whether children go to school at all and you can pick schools without formal lessons too. It's great we live in a country with such choices and we must all fight to preserve the rights of others to educate their children as they choose.

I'm not sure why the holidays are longer and ds was at cofe state primary until 8, dd there until 11. However, I do think it's worth noting that at DS's independent where they break up first week in July - they work until the first week in July. When they were at state school's work seemed to end during the first week in July and the following two and a half to three weeks was a complete waste of time.

Also worth noting that last year holidays were as follows:

DS: Oct 2 weeks DD: Oct 1 week
Xmas 3 weeks Xmas 2 weeks (last week of term futile)

Feb 1 week (middle) Feb 1 week (3rd week)
Easter - 3 weeks March 2 weeks before Easter holiday
Whit week whit week
1st July - 31st August 22 July - 7th September

Mine had little overlap last year and certainly there were very few opportunities for family holidays outside of the summer break because of minimal overlaps. At Easter one child started holiday as the other returned to school!

In our experience (more so at primary level) so little is done during the week before Xmas and the week before Easter and the two or three weeks before the summer break, that the children might just as well break up earlier.

Our local school seems to start at 8.30 and end around 2.30! That seems very early in the day when I think back to my school days when I started at 8.45 and finished at 3.45. I dont see how or why there is a benefit for this? even teens sometimes need an adult around to help or encourage them with homework etc. I dont see how this is "helpful" in todays climate when so many parents work. Perhaps there is some other benefit with these shorter days and earlier starts I am missing? Not sure how the school holidays compare to my day though - to see if more or less or the same amount of time is still spent in school.

My DC are at boarding school. They have a 6 day week. School starts at 8.10 and ends at 6pm except on Weds and Sats when it ends at 4pm. Weds and Sat pm is matches and sports. 2 or 3 Fridays per term school ends at lunch time to allow boarders home for long weekends.

My DC get 8 weeks summer
1 week half term in all 3 terms
3 to 31/2 weeks at Xmas
31/2 weeks at Easter
No inset days

Alot of boarders live overseas and I suppose they are unable to get home in term time so the longer holidays give them more time with their families. I love having my DC home for so long as I do miss them.

Our days are longer and we have saturday school.

Aaarrrggghhh!!!! Zombie thread! WHY

You should have seen DS's disgust that school started in August and not September. Apparently some parents had complained about the length of holidays, even with longer days and Saturday school. Talk about lack of empathy with your kids!

oops

I would imagine that private schools already had their long holidays long before state education existed, so maybe the question should be, 'why do state schools have such short holidays?'

I think it was to do with the boarding school aspect in the past - when more independent schools were boarding too.

And ye s- many independents have a much longer school day. DD's prep school does almost an hour longer than my state primary does each day. And they will be subject to the same number of hours of education they have to provide - but get through nearly 5 hours more a week.

State school holidays did use to be longer - we used to get an extra week in the summer. These are now inset days and spread over the school year. They children get the same number of school days but teacher's now get 5 days less than they used to.

Also agree with whoever said that holidays aren't any cheaper in that first extra week of the school holidays (summer). Holiday companies are not daft - they;ve cottoned on to that for a good while now.

Someone once told me that in the old days independent schools kids needed extra time for the summer season (Henley etc ...), however the rest just needed enough time to tend the fields in the 'busy' period!!!

My DS boarding prep (age 8 to 13) the day boys leave at 6.15pm. Morning starts at about 8.45. Finish early on Friday at 3.45.

Yes longer holidays, summer 2 months, but they do need it. May half term is 2.5 days because of Common Entrance exams. That said, Christmas and Easter 3.5 weeks or there abouts, October half term, 2 weeks, February 1 week.

Prep (homework) and daily games (except Fridays) is built into timetable. Once the school day is finished, that is it. Nothing more is expected. I believe that senior school will follow similar pattern but games on Wednesday afternoon with Saturday school until lunch time. Talking to parents at senior school, pupils starting as day pupils often elect to board because their day at some schools goes on to about 9pm. Not all schools are this.

Agree to differ that children are less stretched. How does smaller classes translate into shorter days? What the longer teaching time does offer is depth of each subject. As a newcomer, the depth of knowledge is quite a surprise compare to state equivalent. For example. Science is taught as separate Physics, Biology and Chemistry even at this age, so more time spent overall. My DC has gone from state to independent and rather than being left in corner to sit quietly he has SEN, is now expected to contribute and get on with work.

Am still gobsmacked at an earlier post giving the exact length of their DC's private school holidays- 21 weeks a year! 21! Blimey.

I'd need a lot of 'wonderful ethos/fantastic facilities/guaranteed stellar A level results/diamond encrusted gymnasium' talk to soothe my about what I was actually paying per hour of actual education!

Had a chat a couple of weeks ago with a mate whose DCs are at a £12k pa school- we were both surprised to learn their 'education' day is as long (or short) as my DCs state day,but they have an extra hour at lunch time- she is a leetle bit aggrieved that her DC do not avail themselves of any of the free clubs offered then. As, I admit, would I be! You can't even pull the 'marvellous extra-curricular' out of the hat if your DC don't go!

21 weeks here too!!!

Whenever I see the calandar I cannot believe the holidays come round so soon. But when they do, DC and I are always ready for them.

Term time is utterly full on.

We've got more than nine weeks this year. I've filled up one week for DD with an intensive piano course and three weeks with summer camp because I just don't think it is good for DCs to be on holiday for so long with no structured activities.

Actually, Bonsoir, the length of the holidays was, in the end, a real part of the deal-breaking when we were considering a private school of DS2 as he is a little 'lost' in the bigger classes of his state school- but, frankly, he'd have to be re-educated from scratch every September if he had 9 weeks off! His teachers made it clear to us he is a 'little but constant' learner, not a 'full on, jam packed, hell-for-leather... then nothing' (for weeks on end!) learner, a fact we have more than recognised for ourselves. My 2 both also need routine in their lives- maybe they lack imagination?!- but we have been known to find, even during the odd 2 week holiday that, depending on their 'developmental' and 'maturity' stages, they can really need the structure of a school day in their lives! I guess we're all (well, most of us) creatures of habit and long, unstructured time can 'throw' us, unless we can afford to pay for structure and stimulation (or are super keen and super organised- and SAHM!).

And how the hell to WM afford the CC??!

Its a perk. Its the last one left in private education and really the only one worth working for.

The pupils love it as it gives them time to enjoy those "lazy hazy days of summer ( ha!) and the teachers love it because they can go a hiking in the Austrian Tyrol for 8 weeks.

Leave my holidays alone! They are they only thing I have left to look forward to - time with my family.

I finish on Thursday ( school offocially finishes Friday but I do not work Friday) and we ( DW , DS and self) are off to Canada until September (DW is Canadian before anyone says anything)

Happy hunting.

There is lots of research to back up the idea that long summer holidays are bad for DCs unless their parents fill the educational gap (in kind or by paying for it).

Thats B*llocks put about by those who want " free all year round child care and cant cope with their own insolent DC's because they are poor parents.

None of the evidence ( and I have read it extensively) suggests any gain is anything but temporary - and that would likely be lost if all year round school came in permanently.

Educational gap? What gap? The gap is there to be a gap. It isnt there to be filled with anything . Try it.

Nothing makes me madder than this.

No jabed, you are not correct. The research is very complete, very international and nobody apart from those who have not read it disputes its findings. I certainly do not want childcare - we invest very heavily in education for our DCs - and I do not personally want the school holidays to be any shorter because we are in the fortunate position of being those parents who can afford to offer our DCs the sort of educational opportunities in their holidays that most families can only dream of.

But I feel for those DCs who spend their holidays in childcare and/or in front of the TV. It does them a lot of harm.

I am disputing it. So there.

I was asked on another thread why I didnt start the anti schooling revolution - well maybe I might if you carry on like this.

wrap around schooling and wrap around years are part of a hidden curriculum - the sausage factory curriculum.

Are you very stupid, jabed? Believing the research that demonstrates that weeks of no stimulation harm DC is not the same as advocating year round wrap around schooling.

DS2's primary school had longer Christmas, Easter and summer holidays because a lot of the boarders came from overseas (esp China) and boarded straight through the shorter holidays.