Industry News
Schools trial two-tier start times
Posted on 6th June 2007
Primary schools in Plymouth, Devon, have been trialling a new system of starting the day in which parents can opt to have their children start school at 7:45 or 11:00am.
The move is aimed at increasing flexibility for busy parents as part of a four-week pilot scheme, the London Evening Standard reports.
Supported by the Department of Education, schools across the country will be watching to see how the project fares. So far, the early 7:45am start has proven to be the more popular out of the two options.
Mark Lees, headmaster of Southway School - which is testing the scheme - explained: "Research says different children learn better at different times of the day.
"Many pupils join breakfast clubs and after-school clubs, usually to help fit-in with their parents' work shifts.
"This experiment is a response to that and has aroused a lot of interest from our parents and other schools around the country," he concluded.
Earlier this year, an Oxford University neuroscientist claimed it is "cruel" to force teenagers to start school early in the morning. Professor Russell Foster explained that the hormonal changes in adolescents also alters their body clock, the Evening Standard reported.