Length of day at private schools

[Tethersend01]

My Child in year 7 is not coping with the Comprehensive and we are coming to the conclusion that switching to the local private school might be a much easier place for him to be.
Neither myself or DH attended private schools and I was surprised to learn that the school day is so long! 8.10 to 5.30 at the nearest school. I’m just not sure hiw DC will adapt and cope with such a long day. They are exhausted with the standard 9 to 3.20 at the local school. Has anyone hot any experience of this transition goid/ bad/ indifferent? Tia

You should be able to find all hours, timings if the day and holidays in-line or by asking.

Not all private schools have the same hours/holidays, or expectations.

DD's secondary (part of the GDST) was a pretty normal school day time wise and matched the local state schools.
Half terms were the same as the local state schools.
Easter, Christmas and summer were all a week longer than the state schools.
There was no weekend classes, no compulsory after school clubs and no compulsory sports events.

What are the issues at normal school?
do u think yr child has additional needs that rnt met?

My son is at a small independent school (not a SEN school but funded through his EHCP as he is Autistic and couldn’t cope in the huge state secondary). His days are 8.30am-4pm lessons then either homework or club until 5.30pm then a coach home. So he’s out of the house 8am-6pm.

It is a very long day but he benefits massively from there being a 20 min break between every single lesson (5 lessons a day), and being able to get all his homework done during the school day, with support if needed. Also the small class sizes and high expectations for order and good behaviour suit him well as he can’t bear chaos!

As others have said, it depends what your child’s specific needs are and then whether the private school can meet those needs. Every school is very different!

DD been in private since Year 1 - it was 8.40 to 4.05 , moved schools in Year 5 (currently year 11) and that is 8.30 to 3.45 but the actual day starts at7.45/8 as there are extra things on before school and people can take kids in at 7.30 for breakfast club (included in fees), and things on after school until 5/6 most days.

She gets the bus at 7.40 in a morning and gets in anytime from 4.30 to 6 depending on what she has on.

I think because she has always had this longer day she is used to it. On a Friday she leaves the house at 7.40 and gets in at 9.30pm as she has school stuff til 6 and then county music rehearsal til 9. Some of her friends in the village get in at 3.15 . Our local state schools have very short days but longer terms.

They do get used to it.

The impression I've got of our local private schools is that whilst the days are longer, the pace of the day is nicer and not as overwhelming. There's better breaks, including a proper lunch break (unlike most of our local state secondaries who think 30 minutes is enough time for students to leave class, queue for lunch, go to the toilet and see friends). There's also an expectation of clubs and games throughout, and there's prep time. They have high expectations of behaviour and attitude to learning, but the environment is calmer overall so there's less overstimulation.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply I really appreciate hearing peoples different experiences and perspectives.
Its so so hard to know what to do for the best and I am feeling really sad/ stressed/ overwhelmed currently. Things have come to a head as the bullying is now at the level of requiring police involvement. For context DC school is on paper outstanding with an effective SEN dept, but many of the supportive interventions just haven’t materialised and its clear that due to their ‘good’ reputation they have been overwhelmed with children with additional needs and cannot cope.
My son is most likely neurodiverse and he is on the waiting list for assessment. He is extremely sociable and verbally articulate and has an incredible sense of justice which is his undoing as he gets himself into situations where he gets himself ‘noticed’ by the older troubled kids.
He is also easily distracted so basic tasks like getting from a to b classroom is an ongoing stressful struggle for him and as a pp mentioned 30 mins for lunch is basically impossible- I realised a few weeks ago by checking the online account that he just stopped buying lunch as he didn’t believe he had time to eat alongside the other stuff. Its a huge school (around 2500 kids) its noisy chaotic and the premises are vast so I feel everything is against him.
He is academically bright and could do well with the actual learning, he gets very very invested in STEM type subjects as well as drama, choir etc and seems keen to do cricket and hockey so I feel he could find his place in the right school.
The school we have in mind has a Saturday school but its not complusory.

My son is in private prep and chooses to stay from 8am-5.30 as he loves the clubs on offer. My daughter is in Year 7 and is in from 8-6. She loves all the sports, the clubs and the socialising. School fulfils her every need during term time and she’s very happy. All prep is done at school as they have prep sessions throughout the day so nothing to do at home. School is very nurturing and all issue are dealt with immediately. I will often email a teacher at 6pm and get a rely by 6.30pm. Couldn’t fault it.

Another thing I like is that doing well is celebrated not ridiculed. It’s cool to be smart. Everyone plays an instrument and most take part in the drama. We went to a concert that the school puts on monthly the other week and people attend from miles away. I thought how lovely it was to have 16,17/18 year old boys choosing to play their violin or trumpet or whatever on a Saturday night and having a fantastic time. It’s like a different world.

I despair at the ridiculous generalisations on here. My DD (y11) attends a state school and has never been ridiculed for being smart. She does loads of extra curricular activities and is on course for 8s and 9s in her GCSEs. It is, of course, perfectly right for parents to explore which school nearest them is best for their children, whether neurodiverse or not, but the posts which suggest all state schools are rife with bullies while private schools are oases of calm are irritatingly simplistic!

Not all independent schools have that length of day.

3 near me.

1 8.30-4pm
2 8.40-4.40
3 8.30-5.30 but can leave at 4.30 as the last hour is prep.

1 is cheapest and more your affordable independent with no particular thrills.

2 is more pushy academically but doesn't offer loads of extra curricular

3 is most expensive, lots of extra curricula and offers boarding. But is also the most flexible for pupils who attend sports out of school.

My Dcs are at private. The day is 08.20-16.20 every day with after school clubs.

My Dcs do not do any after school clubs at all. The older one has autism and learning difficulties and cannot cope with anything extra. The younger one does a lunchtime and Saturday morning club.

Truith is- they get used to it. Ours has prep as well so they have 9 and 7 years of this aort of school day. DH and I are able to work around it with our own work (self employed). We do NOT use the bus for them to get there or home because that would mean they are home at 6 pm rather than 5 pm due to the routes.

We do serious weekend chill time. NOTHING happens at the weekend except for DS2s swimming which he loves. Holidays are longer obviously and we really take a step back. We do very very little and let them relax. Ds2 is more capable of doing stuff but DS1 needs to conserve his energy and have alot of downtime.

This is a while ago now, but I went from a state school to private in year 9. The private school had longer days like you describe, I think occasionally it might have felt a bit crap in winter going to school in the dark and coming in the dark, but my mum explained it to me as all balancing out as we often haf an extra week or two for Easter/ Summer holiday breaks compared to state schools, so with that knowledge I didn't mind!

after school clubs take the day to 6 pm I mean. The standard school day finishes at 16.20. Then they have the option to stay for supper club until 7 pm.

I went to private school and my daughter is next week moving to private.

The day is long but likely optional clubs etc after 4pm. You are kept that busy, in a good, productive way, that the day flies by and I am not worried that DD6 will be too tired.

I would recommend he tries the private for a few days trial and see how he gets on - before you commit, and give notice to current school. The school should be willing to accommodate this.

Private won’t be perfect, you will still have issues but there are lots of benefits to the environment.

Agree with other posters, I wouldn’t worry about the length of day at all. The longer day will normally include sports/games and other extracurriculars. Great to get them done at school and come home to relax without needing to go out again.
My kids, both at state school, finish at 3.30 but have to go straight from school to their various clubs or come home first and go out again. Their day normally finishes much later than 5.30pm but they are also never tired 🙄

The days are longer DC 08:15 - 17:30 but the holidays make up for it