Your views on summer holidays

Mike Baker discussed whether having earlier summer holidays could help pupils perform better.

As usual we invited your comments. Here is a selection of your replies:

Are you seriously proposing that hay fever is a good reason for moving holidays? I'd rather have rain than allergic rhinitis for a holiday. You can still read, think and write with hay fever it just means you have a rotten time. Keep exams where they are.
Tim Smith, Ormskirk, Lancashire

There was talk for a while of changing the school terms to five 8-week terms with 2 week breaks between teaching blocks, with one break of 4 weeks. This makes planning teaching easier and spreads the holidays more evenly across the year and avoids summer learning loss. You could have the 4 week break in May/June after exams in April/May. Perfect.
Susan, Aberdeen

As my son so correctly says, "if you are in the sea what is the problem with a spot of rain!" We have come back from an action packed camping holiday in Wales, the surf was spectacular thanks to the wind, he took up a new sport kite boarding and I don't think we only hovered in one cafe. Yes, we squelched in mud, felt very "earthy" played cards and various board games but we all had a fantastic time.
Liz Jolly, Fareham

Completely agree with this. I have been saying ever since my eldest started school (13 years ago) that the May holiday should be lengthened to 2-3 weeks and the summer break shortened to make life easier on families. Why not go one step further and put our main holiday in May/June?
Karen Giles, Melksham UK

Great idea, and I'm sure the only reason it doesn't happen is due to the huge administrative cost which can't really be justified. It is about as likely to happen as moving Christmas to February when we might have a chance of a white Christmas.
Jacky Keyes, portsmouth, UK

Yes, the students will benefit from longer summer holiday. In U.S. most have 12 weeks off but yet would do day camps on different topics from sports to science. This is another way for students to learn. I do believe this short holiday period in U.K. had started in Victorian period where most would work in labour so this was a way to pull them out of labour to go school. Now many years later, no one thought about increasing holiday days for children. Now, most families are in middle class area would provide any extra interests during the free periods. Government should have more faith in parents to do what is the best for their child according to education levels.
Lynn, Kenilworth, UK

The school summer holiday dates should be left as they are. I have my holiday in June to avoid the kids. Those of us with no children (or grown up children) want to enjoy our holiday too you know!
Gemma, UK

Most of the countries in the world have their summer holidays in June. Why do we always insist on being an exception? I fail to understand. The days after June just drag on and on and not only parents and children but teachers too can't wait for the torture to end. Glad to see someone's talking sense.
Tazeen, London

Fully agree, we live in Scotland where summer school holidays start at the end of June and end mid-August. This allows us to enjoy (relatively) better weather especially in July; mid-August is already quite autumnal and it makes sense to go back to school. We used to live in England and I found July a hard month for the children to go to school, it's usually quite warm and kids are really tired - nothing much gets done. I know it would be major organizational upheaval, but it would make sense to change the school calendar and finish in June everywhere in the UK. Mind you, I come from Italy where children are off in the summer for 3 months - but then, it's really too hot there to go to school in the summer! I prefer the system here with 6 weeks off in the summer and several short holidays at half term - more complicated to organize for the families but it gives useful breaks to the kids!
V Lutje, Milngavie, Scotland

How true, I remember sitting exams in a horrid 1960s glass-and-concrete gym hall, facing south, with the heat of an entire spring day trapped inside it. Or those many times sitting in class, longingly wishing to be out in the late spring sunshine. Romantic? Nostalgic? It was only five years ago...
Richard, Liverpool

What a fabulous idea! Why on earth haven't the politicians thought of this one. It would surely help the UK tourism industry as well. I suppose they'll commission another paper to see if this will work and they might do something about it by the time my son leaves school (he's 8). If us mum's ran our household's like these politician's run our country, we'd spend all day in bed - oh what a lovely thought!
Sue Harris, Milton Keynes, Bucks, UK

Move the summer holiday by all means but don't shorten it - students and teachers need the break to recharge their batteries and get their brains ready for learning. Try and keep holidays to the major times - the farce this year with our schools having the Easter weekend then having to wait two weeks for the holiday was ridiculous - it also meant having to do two odd days at the end of the summer because of the Easter Bank Holidays!
John Deeth, Lydney