02-25-2007, 04:44 PM
[quote davester]
Interesting. Is it a regional thing? I went to school near Portsmouth in Hampshire. Public education. My recollection is 3 weeks, because our family would head out on a camping holiday the second we got out, and I'd return to school the day after we got back. Also, we weren't released until 4:30 pm each day. It was an incredible (good) shock moving to the US. Suddenly summer vacation was 3 full months and school was released at 2:30 pm. It felt like an all year vacation.
Not regional, would be the same all over the UK. Sometimes the exact dates would differ by a few days around the country but the overall time in school would be the same over the year and six weeks was and still is the norm for the summer.
4.30 finish could be correct, I used to end at 4.10 but started the day at 8.45. Certainly everyone I know who was schooled in the US is amazed at the length of time our children spend there each day but then historically our children were then further ahead in their education because of it. Not sure if that is still the case.
They are thinking of cutting the summer holiday length by creating a four term school year but they would still keep it at four weeks.
I have to say it is very, very unlikely that you only had three weeks in the summer, it would be almost unique in Britain. I can say that you might not be alone in having false memories from your childhood. Very common and I'm not immune to it myself. You believe something for years to be true then find out much later that it couldn't possibly have happened. A bit unnerving, makes you wonder what else is not 'as you remember'!
Interesting. Is it a regional thing? I went to school near Portsmouth in Hampshire. Public education. My recollection is 3 weeks, because our family would head out on a camping holiday the second we got out, and I'd return to school the day after we got back. Also, we weren't released until 4:30 pm each day. It was an incredible (good) shock moving to the US. Suddenly summer vacation was 3 full months and school was released at 2:30 pm. It felt like an all year vacation.
Not regional, would be the same all over the UK. Sometimes the exact dates would differ by a few days around the country but the overall time in school would be the same over the year and six weeks was and still is the norm for the summer.
4.30 finish could be correct, I used to end at 4.10 but started the day at 8.45. Certainly everyone I know who was schooled in the US is amazed at the length of time our children spend there each day but then historically our children were then further ahead in their education because of it. Not sure if that is still the case.
They are thinking of cutting the summer holiday length by creating a four term school year but they would still keep it at four weeks.
I have to say it is very, very unlikely that you only had three weeks in the summer, it would be almost unique in Britain. I can say that you might not be alone in having false memories from your childhood. Very common and I'm not immune to it myself. You believe something for years to be true then find out much later that it couldn't possibly have happened. A bit unnerving, makes you wonder what else is not 'as you remember'!