Half-term early

[Clamzy]

Does anyone know why the half-term holiday has been taken so early this year?
Shrove Tuesday is not until next week and Easter starts 6th April so it's most unusual.

[seadogg]

Is it a very short term?

[Buenchico]

School holidays vary across different education authorities, so not every area will necessarily be on holiday this week.

However, assuming that schools take their Easter holiday a week either side of the Easter weekend (and that the school term started immediately after the New Year celebrations), there are 13 weeks in this term. So it seems logical to follow a pattern of 6 weeks on, 1 week off and 6 weeks on (which is why half-term falls this week).

[EDDIE51]

Last year Easter started on 21st April , which was near the latest possible date. This year, as you say, it starts on 6th April so 1/2 term is earlier as the term is shorter.

[EDDIE51]

ps remember Jogger Jane complaining that the late date for Easter 2011 made organising a skiing trip harder !

[starone]

Yes, Chris is right (I think he was a teacher) - it has always been thus - six weeks at school, one week off and then six weeks school again before a longer holiday like Easter or Christmas or the long and boring summer holiday.

[annie0000]

simply to annoy me it seems :o)

We always have the kids of for a week in Feb and I thought it would be quiet to come to London for a couple of days.......so they made half term in England early just to make it busy for us.

[ummmm]

Star...how do you remember this stuff? I have kids at school and still forget. How old are your kids now?

[starone]

My kids are now 57 and 54 but I have got grandchildren as well and there are plenty of children round here to remind me. P.S. Perhaps I remember because I think, OMG it's a holiday again, already, doesn't seem to take long to pass.

[ummmm]

I haven't got a clue....lol

I had to phone the school the other day...took me ages to find a school book with my sons class name on it :-0

[micmak]

With all those holidays, I should have been a teacher.

[ummmm]

It's not me being a bad Mum....they changed the system. We had three tier...and they swapped it to two tier a few years ago.

I haven't got a clue what year they're in now :-)

[ummmm]

Don't believe what you read Micmak....they have to work in the holidays!! x

[starone]

Yes, ummmm, they spend quite a large amount of their time preparing for the following term. Not only that, but I reckon they deserve long holidays for putting up with our kids for the rest of the time. Some give their time to holiday classes, don't they. I would not be a teacher for all the tea in China, (old saying in case anyone doesn't know).

[Jonathan-Joe]

With the conventional pattern of term times, it isn't always "six weeks at school, one week off and then six weeks school again" for the Spring and Summer terms, because the date of Easter varies year by year, from March 22nd to April 25th.

[micmak]

I was an engineer umm, before I retired. Didn't get a holiday every six weeks though.

[starone]

I expect there are schools with different dates for their holidays now that the head teachers are allowed to set their own rules. I still stick to what I said that I would not even contemplate being a teacher, especially now that you are not allowed to use any form of discipline. It is no wonder that many children leave school unable to read or write properly. Or do math.

[sophie_1003]

Most of the half terms I remember have been this week as it usually falls so that Valentines day is in the half term holiday. And definitely lots of unpaid hours go into teaching; I work around 65-70 hour weeks once you add in all the preparation I do outside of school hours; add in time I'll spend in holidays on work and it works out to far more than double the hours teachers are supposed to do. I'm hoping I can reduce this down once I've been teaching for a few years but can't imagine it will be by much!

[micmak]

Poor teachers lol. A bit like I've never seen a farmer on a bike.