Should Summer Holidays Be Shortened and Spread Out?

 by Wilf Brown

Summer holidays have always been known as the perfect break for students, as it is a long period where almost nothing has to be done. It offers extreme relaxation, and a huge abundance of free time. But, the question that has been considered for a while now, should summer holidays be shortened? 

There are many points that can be thought of to agree with this statement, such as the fact that the summer holidays were only in place in the first place for the harvest, as students would help their parents and family members with the summer harvest. As this is no longer the case, it can be strongly argued that there is no need for the colossal break anymore. It could also be said that the summer holidays give students too much time without education, resulting in a lackadaisical beginning to the new school year once they return in September, as it has proven that students lose some of the academic skills and knowledge that they’d built up during the school year. Proponents of a shorter summer holiday argue that it will prevent this loss, meaning that students will learn more consistently all year round. Long summer holidays weren’t as logistically challenging for families in the past. But now that many families have two working parents, summer childcare can be challenging to organise. A shorter summer break would mean that parents can cover this time with their own annual leave. Even if schools were to make summer holidays shorter, other breaks, for instance Christmas, would be longer instead, so pupils don’t miss out on any extra days or weeks off.

To further back this argument, Researchers at the University of Glasgow looked at the effect of summer holidays using data from the Millennial Cohort Study. They found that summer holidays exacerbated inequalities in mental health and verbal cognitive ability. Younger children’s verbal cognitive ability declined during the holidays across all backgrounds. However, the 2022 study concludes that the evidence is mixed, and that school holidays as they are do not lead to significant additional educational disadvantage. The EEF’s review found that extending the school year could have a positive impact on attainment, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. They also suggested that summer programmes which focus on providing students with stimulating environments and activities have a bigger impact on attainment than those with a purely academic focus, perhaps because the students are more engaged and eager to participate. 

Controversially, many think that the summer break gives students a reward for their end of year exams, or even GCSEs or A-levels, and makes students think that their long grind for tests was finally worth it, and that teachers and pupils can ‘recharge their batteries’. A Yougov poll of British teachers in both primary and secondary schools in the UK found that the vast majority - 89% and 92% respectively - are opposed to a shorter summer break.This can also be supported by opinions stating that if we changed the schedule of breaks in the school year, whole school timetables for the year in each subject would need to change, in order to support the longer/shorter terms in the year. In addition, shorter breaks would revoke the chances for families to go on grand tours of the world, or even make them unable to have a holiday altogether, as they have other priorities in the summer. Also, some may say that school would be too hot to fully learn in, as a four week holiday would most definitely result in school taking place in months such as July or August. 

To conclude, although many students would disagree with a shorter summer break because they enjoy a long period of ‘stress-free living’, in the long term, condensing summer breaks and augmenting other holidays would be of a greater benefit to students across every year in schools.