Term Dates

Academic Year 2009 - 2010

Academic Year 2010 - 2011(updated 29.1.10)

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS: HOLIDAYS IN TERM TIME

Holidays in term time are now so frequent that they are causing considerable disruption to teaching and learning.   Not only does the individual student miss valuable time in several subjects but the progress of the classes to which she belongs and the workload of the teacher are affected.

The students

Girls do not always work alone.  They prepare presentations in pairs, do experiments together, share results and analyse findings, research topics, form drama groups, draft projects, make up teams and so on.  When one of the pair / group / team is missing, the others are affected, for example when the play is performed or the presentation delivered.

Older students are preparing coursework or preparing for GCSE / AS / A2 modules throughout the year.  There is no ‘slack time’. 

Letters from home invariably say ‘my daughter will make up the work’.  Experience shows this is frequently not the case and we find at an end-of-unit tests the student says, ‘I was away for that’.  By taking a one-week holiday a Year 10 girl, for example, will miss a minimum of 5 science lessons, 3 English lessons, 3 maths lessons and two or three lessons in each of  five ‘options’ subjects. 

The teacher

A teacher of, let’s say, geography has approximately 10 classes a week of 27 pupils.  In most classes there is at least one girl away, and often two, through illness, a medical appointment or treatment.  The teacher tries to ensure the 10 – 20 girls who have missed work during the week, and possibly a homework task, understand the work on their return and receive any sheets, notes, experimental results etc, to catch up.  Of course, the girls are in different tutor groups with different timetables and individual arrangements have to be made to see them.  Add to this the steady stream of those girls on holiday, another one or two in every class especially before and after every school break, and the teacher is now tracking up to 40 girls a week who have missed one or more geography lessons, an unenviable task.

The family

Letters often say ‘not much happens towards the end of term’.  This is not true.  Other than on the very last day, we keep to a normal timetable.  It is true, however, that it is difficult for the teacher to plough on with important or new work when a significant number of girls will miss it.  The school year is short, especially for Year 9, 11, 12 and 13 students.  We cannot abandon the last few days before every holiday or slow the pace.

Letters often say ‘it’s only sports day’ or some other community activity.  I make no apologies for including community activities at certain times throughout the year.  They are few and far between but they are important to the girls in creating a sense of belonging and providing opportunities for friendly competition, building leadership skills and other attributes that form the non-academic element of education.

Authorisation

Holidays in term time will NOT be authorised nor will extended 'treat' weekends.  If parents do decide to take students away during term time, it will be marked as 'unauthorised' absence.

Absences may be granted for educational activities e.g.sports events, drama performances, music exams etc.  Permission for authorised absence for these should be gained before the event by writing to the Headteacher.  In this situation we ask the student to write an article for our Newsletter outlining her experiences at the event.