Citizen 11th November 2011 - the City of London School

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thecitizen 11 November 2011
citizennews
Debate: Should we have two weeks for the October
half-term at the cost of losing a week in the Summer?
Have you ever considered the possibility of having two weeks half term? Do most of your friends enjoy an extra week in October while
you are working hard, locked up in classrooms for the day? Well this is what I thought:
Of course every student’s dream is to have long lasting holidays and as little school as possible. There are, however, a few disadvantages
of having two weeks in October. The first one is because we would most definitely lose a week in the summer. This would be a sacrifice
which we would have to make; would we rather have a longer October break?The second disadvantage is that we would receive less
learning time. The aspect which must be recognised is if a week off during October can be caught up later on in the year.
The advantages which I have come across are in a greater number. Firstly, we already have a long summer and to lose one week would
not be too dramatic. Secondly, the half term from the October half-term to the beginning of the Christmas holidays is the longest in
our school calendar, seven weeks in total. I personally think that this term is a little long and to have an extra week in October would
be well suited. My next point is that many other schools have the luxury of having two week half terms at every half term in their
school calendar. Surely we can afford to have one extra week and be able to complete the syllabus that other schools with two-week half
terms seem to be capable of doing. This leads me onto the next advantage which is that we might not need to loose a week in summer.
I have come to this thought because when we approach the start of the Christmas and summer holidays, little work is done. I think that
especially after the end of year exams, we have basically completed the course and that we wouldn’t even need to lose a week at summer
and do the required amount of work in a school year, even with one week less. For obvious reasons my opinion doesn’t speak for all the
nine hundred boys and all the members of staff so I have asked some people for their opinion.
Lunch-time Concert
String Orchestra
Conductor: Julia Jones
Leader: Samuel Alberman
Dvořák Serenade for Strings Op.22
Beethoven Piano Trio Op.1 No.1 Allegro
Astor Piazzolla Primavera Portena (Spring from
the Four Seasons of
Buenos Aires)
Bartók Rumanian Dances
Thursday 24 th November 2011, 1pm
St Lawrence Jewry, Guildhall Yard,
EC2V 5AA
YES
One student claimed that our minds need a rest after the large
intake of work from the previous term. Another point made by
this student is that the majority of other leading private secondary
schools have two weeks in half-term and seem to still produce
top quality students. Examples of these schools are St. Paul’s,
Westminster, Kings College and Dulwich. St. Paul’s, despite having
two week half terms all year round, beat us in GCSE and A level
results! Another student said that we have so many weeks off in the
summer and that it wouldn’t hurt to lose a week in exchange for an
extra week in October.
NO
One pupil said that we have very long summer holidays which are
longer than most other schools. He therefore says that we should
be grateful for our long summer break. This pupil also says that to
obtain good grades, we need as many weeks as possible to complete
the course to ensure we receive the best grade possible. A member
of staff says this would be a ‘trade-off’. We would definitely lose
a week in summer if we gain a week in October. A couple more
students came to the conclusion that they would rather have a longer
summer and that one week in the October half term is sufficient.
Citizen Poll
Should we have a two-week
October half-term?
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Yes No Don't know