6 August 2008
Summer Holiday
Posted by Holiday under: Holiday List .
Not all going on a summer holiday
Children in England and Wales have the shortest school summer holidays in the European Union.
With many schools about to begin a six-week holiday - there are schools on the continent which are shut for 16 weeks over the summer.
But there is little sign of a link between longer hours in the classroom and higher standards.
Schools in Finland, one of the most successful education systems, have been on holiday since the beginning of June.
Summer Holiday
Germany and Liechtenstein are also at the bottom of the holiday league with six-week summer breaks - but many European countries have holidays that stretch between 10 and 12 weeks.
Family friendly?
It means that English and Welsh state school pupils are still studying when almost every other classroom in Europe is empty and family holidays are in full swing.
Both the government and opposition have been campaigning on supporting the family.
But if the drive for extended schools continues, families in England could see even less of their children - with plans for more schools to provide term-time “wrap-around services”, offering after and before-school activities between 8am and 6pm.
And the English school system also involves children starting in education at a very young age - with increasing numbers of three year olds in nursery classes attached to primary schools.
In contrast, many northern European countries do not start compulsory education until children are seven.
But there is no evidence that spending so many more hours in the education system delivers better results - in fact, the countries with the lowest teaching hours have the most successful systems.
Less is more?
Each year, the OECD publishes a report comparing the performance of education systems in the industrialised world… continue
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6288114.stm
