Is there any option in the UK when the parents don't want their children to spend a whole day at school?

[catepilarr]

a friend of mine is considering moving from germany but is concerned about the kids being at school all day. she would prefer half days as she is used to from germany/czech republic (school is usually 8am -1 or 2pm/. are there any schools that only do half days in the UK?

8-2 is the same as 9-3 so it's not really a whole day anyway is it?

I've never heard of just going to school in the mornings but I guess if you researched some of the more "alternative" private schools, you might find something

Your friend ought to check her facts before worrying..Its the same number of school hours here exactly. In Britain they need school time for lunch. In Germany you take the children home for lunch.

yes, surely 9-3 is the same hours?

riven, that sounds wonderful. Do some schools accept that then? I'd love to do that with ds.

How old are the children?

My sister home schools on mondays and fridays - it took a months of negotiation with the school but it seems to be working very well for her.

primary or secondary bigmouth?

The state school I teach in has a school day of 8:30 - 2:30, and there are others in the area with similar times.

All over Europe the total hours any child in state education has to do over any one year is exactly the same. For example, in the hotter European countries, they have longer holidays in the summer, and fewer days off in the winter....ditto a shorter day. But the hours, by European law, are the same overall. Just spread out differently. Maybe part school, part homeschool would be a solution? Bit disruptive though I'd have thought.

Primary in Wales.

Hi sushistar, there's a clear outline of how flexi-schooling could work here

It is entirely up to the head teacher whether they accept it or not.

well maybe i didnt express myself well enough to be understood. but still no need to be so excited by the question. when i read other threads here about choosing schools i could be equally shocked by what people can worry about. to different people in different places different things matter if you get what i mean/

anyway perhaps you dont think so but it is a hell of a difference coming home everyday at four oclock and half past two. and for younger children of primary age the difference is coming home at twelve or half past three. /lunch at school in all cases, lessons beeing 8-1.30 or 8- 11.30 respectively/

home schooling? - something not allowed in germany

@bucharest - that is quite interesting about the europian laws, yet hardly surprising. do you know anything more about this or where to search for it?
in my country /czech rep/ we have 45 min lessons. grade one starts with 20 lessons a week, by grade five they have about 30-32 lessons a week all the way to A levels. as far as i know at least somewhere in germany it is very similar.
in my country there is about 13 weeks of holidays /9+2+1+odd days/

Have a look at the schools that are part of the organization "Human Scale Education". They are private, but tend not to be too expensive. The one we went to was extremely flexible as it's all about the needs of the child rather than the convenience of the system. DS2 did his first year doing 4 days a week which was lovely.

thanks,sounds interesting. i think they decided against the move but thanks anyway.