Quick Poll - how many of your kids have saturday school at primary (prep) level and what do you think

[PrincessPeaHead]

I'm about to go into battle with our headmaster about saturday school. It is every other saturday for years 5-8 from 8.15 to 4pm. Chapel and visiting lectures and random things (but not classes) in the morning, games in the afternoon.

I think 8.15 - 6.00 5 days a week is enough school thanks very much.

WOuld be v grateful for real life examples of what goes on at other prep schools

thanks!

Poor little buggers....

No Saturday School for any of the years at DD's prep school - goes up to P4/Y6.

Their normal school day seems very long as it is. No idea why they need even more time!

it is too much

I think the school day alone is too much let alone every other saturday as well

when will her father and siblings see her?
grrrr

my ds is at fee-paying primary (not really sure what constitutes prep school) and has none of this...longer day than state primary 8.30-4pm tbh hes shattered with just that! Weekends often involve sports fixtures or practice for something, but no formal school.

That's a long day pph. The school my dses will be going to is 8.45 - 3.15 and when they get to 8 years old they do Saturday school 2 weeks out of 3. However, it sounds like it's a couple of lessons in the morning and playing games in the afternoon.

My dh had Saturday school til 5 every week but he was away at boarding school.

aha, so if there is a match and he is in the team he goes in?

I think that is OK

I'm gearing up for an almighty fight but I'm not too sure what outcome I want. Him to cancel sat school? Unlikely. Him to say OK, it is optional? Unlikely. Him to say it is optional for your dd? Unlikely. Us to agree that I won't send her and he won't notice? Possible. Him to say "well that is how it is, if you don't like it go somewhere else?" Well there aren't many options near me, I drive 35mins to get there as it is.

Hmmmm

My dds' school is MUCH shorter hours but they are only in lower school at the moment - hours go up a bit from upper school but not significantly. A rather grander one has longer hours - not sure if there's any connection or not? Academically the dds' is as good and school takes up SO much time - w/ends is quite mad. 8-6 is a normal day???? Good God.

piglit but do your weekday hours increase as they get older?

sat school 2 weeks out of 3 is even worse - are you happy with that?

well she will be 8.15 to 5.15 and come home with 45mns homework, or 8.15 to 6.00 and come home with no homework (ie she stays for prep)

bloody long day however you look at it

piglit our years R-2 are 8.45 to 3.00, years 3 and 4 8.15 - 4.15 and it is years 5 and up that are the hours I said plus saturday school

dd is going into year 5 next year which is why I'm agitating about it

I'll be picking up children from nursery and yr 2 at 3.00 and dd1 at 5.15 or 6.00. And it is an hour and a quarter round trip.

Nightmare

Longest hours at DD's school is for prep (Y3toT6) and that is 8:30am to 3:45pm. After school and extra curricular stuff afterwards till 5pm is optional.

The only thing at weekends AFAIK are sport fixtures, which is standard for state schools too anyway.

There is no way I would want Saturday school. We are away at weekends too much for all that.

Don't think they even have such long days or Sat school at the secondary either.

My DD1 in year 5 has Saturday School every other Saturday but just 9am until 12.30. This is for years 4 to 8 inclusive (The Prep school only in other words). Sports matches are often on Sat as well but usually planned to combined with a "school Saturday" IYSWIM!.

DD1 enjoys Sat school BUT it does play havoc with "real life" especially during this term. She has 2 preps set for the weekend which she tries to complete on a Friday evening. If for any reason she cannot do this one week which also happens to be a Sat school weekend then she spends sat pm doing prep! - poor thing!

much more civilised hulababy

honestly, if an adult had a 6 day, 64 hour work week you'd feel sorry for him/her. or expect them to be bringing home 250k as compensation

I think I might foment a bit of revolution amongst parents if I don't have a meaningful result with the HM

None of them like it. And there is an IS inspection next year (like Ofsted) during which they ask parents views on things - I think I may remind him of this.

ANd he has to listen to me, I'm planning on sending 4 children there until 2018, I'm worth a fortune to him

don't you think?!!

They can do activities til 5 pm from age 7/8 - music, drama, blah blah but it's all optional. And I forgot - they have Wednesday afternoons off until they are older and playing matches against other schools. It all seems to change at the age of 8 AFAIK - I think that's because they take on some boarders then.

I think I'm ok about it all but that's because:

1. It's still a long way off
2. We live literally 5 minutes away from the school (whereas you have a very long journey each way)
3. It's a lovely school and I'm very taken with the headmaster, his wife and what they do there
4. My nieces and nephews do Saturday school (at a different school) and they love it.

4 children 'till 2018 - you are worth a dam fortune to him....he should bow to your wishes

far too long a day - I think that for my DD's too sometimes - then add in music practice etc.. and all mine do somedays is school, prep, supper, music practice and bed!!
I can identify with the wait between finishing hours as well - what do you plan to do - the round trip ( mine is 50mins) or stay at school ( reading and spellings in the car anyone!!)

pph sherborne prep have just dropped their sat school - well it exists but is optional - as there were so many sporting events

parents v pleased generally

So what shall I say?

Justify sat school to me.
I am very unhappy with the idea because she will have (with travel) an 11 hour day 5 days a week which is enough
If you can't fit everything in during the week, then lop a week or so of our excessively long schol hols, or accept that you can't do everything
Also the weekend is family time, the only time her younger siblings and her father get to see her
Life is complicated and stressful enough for children these days, and childhood is short
She will not be going to Sat school, we can either do this with your acceptance, or you can pretend not to notice
If you object to this then I'll have to reconsider my position with all of the children

It is a bit of a nuclear threat

they dropped it as so mnay parents complained

Has he recently introduced this ?

have they enid

yes if I was 5 mins away it would be better but still objectionable in principle

what do I do about pickups? Hire a nanny at £350 (plus tax - more like 450) per week who I can trust to drive down the mway with my kids

it might be cheaper in fact to hire a chauffeur or rent a bloody house in the village the school is in for term times

PPH - do you think the long journey might be the major factor for you? It makes your dc's day even longer and will be a total nightmare for you. You'll be doing the school run all day every day. Total pants.

no TM - it used to be every sat, but only til 12, and actual lessons.
so you couldn't complain, or they'd miss history and french or whatever

but people did complain about weekends being ruined so he changed it to every other sat, not lessons but "extracurricular" bollox, and all day

worse IMO

the long journey is a nightmare

but I live in a black hole for schooling. there is no other private option that is closer, and the closest state school is on an RAF base with 30% pupil turnover (and 90% forces children so mine would be odd ones out), next closest is failing, next closest is so tiny they don't know if it is going to be open one term to the next and has only about 2 classes etc etc