13 Features The RGS Gazette Issue 12 July 2024 Should RGS Days Be Shorter? Callum James, Aarav Trivedi and James Drury (Year 8) discuss whether shorter school days are more beneficial Here at RGS, the length of the school day and whether it should change has been the subject of much debate. The current situation is that 87% of schools in the UK start at roughly 9am and finish at 3pm, resulting in 6 hours of time at school. However, here at RGS, the school day lasts for a bit longer the day lasts from 8:40 to 3:30, totalling almost 7 hours. We believe that when school finishes at 3pm, the day feels a lot shorter, even if we only miss 15 minutes of lesson time due to a shorter lunch. Also, this shorter day doesn’t appear to majorly influence our learning. There will always be a mix of opinions on this ageold question, as many parents would likely prefer a longer school day, so that they can get rid of their annoying children. Anyway, considering that the RGS school day is 50 minutes longer than the average length of a British school day, the answer seems very clear or does it? We personally enjoy having longer holidays, which we would not receive if we had shorter school days, as we would need to cover the same volume of content. However, a survey conducted by Walden University suggested that there is “no direct correlation between longer school days and higher achievement.” This demonstrates that we don’t necessarily need longer school days in order to be more productive. Furthermore, here in the UK, a survey showed that just under a third of respondents would like a longer school day for optional learning. "This demonstrates that we don't necessarily need longer school days in order to be more productive." Our time in most, if not all, schools, our time in lessons is balanced with short breaks, so that we can rest from our studies. However, in pursuit of academic excellence, are we stressing our minds too much? Instead of having shorter days, we could possibly have longer breaks and shorter lessons, or even retain the normal length of the day and introduce a threeday weekend. This would give our minds a break and leave us with a chance to focus on nonacademic activities. "It is no secret that our homework often exceeds the 35 minute limit." Returning to the topic of shorter days, we believe that this would give us time to practice our hobbies during the work week, rather than cramming it all into the short time after school or the short weekend. Perhaps, we could have a cycle so that in one week, we finish early on Monday. Next week, we would finish early on Tuesday, and so on. With this rotational method, students wouldn’t fall behind in just one subject. However, if school does finish earlier, some students will have to wait longer anyway, because their buses still arrive at the usual time. This means that for some children, the school day won’t be any shorter. We personally think that having to cram all our hobbies into one weekend really limits our potential, especially academically. We also think that school life should consist of two parts: academics and hobbies. In conclusion, we believe that the school day should be longer. This is due to the fact that our school has longer and more frequent holidays to make up for the extra time that students spend at school. Also, the time that we do spend at school allows students to grow more academically, relative to some other schools. 'Jazz in the Quad' at RGS (2024) The RGS school day lasts nearly 7 hours (2023)
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