Starting school at 10am. Sounds ridiculous, right? Well, it may not be as far-fetched or as ridiculous as you may first think. Let me enlighten you. This is a serious and well-researched proposal that has even reached the debating chamber of the Houses of Parliament. This may not be every pupil’s dream; it may become a reality.
In this article, I will delve deeper into the research behind this fabulous possibility. But, beware-with every new solution, arises a lot of new problems.
Let me take the advantages first. This late start would reduce many health related issues that come with a lack of sleep. Sleep brings added physical and emotional benefits as the body recharges itself whilst on “snooze”. This vital reboot helps us fight infection; boosts productivity in school and therefore improves our academic performance.
Many complaints about an early start to school are about the lack of time to enjoy a healthy and nutritious breakfast. Research tells us that this meal is the most important meal in which we fuel up our bodies for the rest of the day. Starting at 10am would give us the opportunity for this to happen.
Teenagers. Moody, emotional, irrational beings. Early starts are proven to make teenagers even more grumpy and unwilling to participate in any activity other than eye-rolling or sighing. This is not conducive to academic progress. Starting later would mean happier teenagers who will at least try to utter a coherent syllable. I am sure that this will make us all happier, especially the pupils. Ann Ryan-teacher- says “I think there is a debate to be had. I think there are students who would definitely benefit from an extra hour in bed. I do, however, wonder whether students would actually use that time to sleep or do work or whether they would just spend even more time on their phones”.
As stated earlier, the government have now taken matters into their own hands. A petition has been launched, which will get this issue out into the public eye. It already has approximately 188,000 signatures from people online. MP Daniel Zeichner has even told the debate there were “strong scientific reasons for considering change”, citing studies from Singapore and Canada, showing that it improved teen sleep patterns. He said that schools in his Cambridge constituency had told him later starts would make it easier for staff to get childcare, reduce traffic and reduce pressures on public transport, which are all good points. James Wilson, AKA The Sleep Geek said, “I am fully in favour of a later start time for teenagers and I welcome the fact that MPs are debating this issue. We have a school day that is not in sync with the majority of teenagers’ body clocks and as sleep is the foundation that our health is built upon, it is a significant factor in the issues teenagers have with their well-being, particularly around mental health and obesity”.
However, I am going to have to inform you of the disadvantages of a later start (that I know you don’t want to hear). Most people will slam the proposal and blame the youngsters for staying up too late on technology as the reason they struggle to get to school on time. In the vast majority of situations, this really isn’t the case.
First of all, a later start time would largely impact the schedules of working families, which would cause a lot of awkward timing and confusion. For example, if school starts later, it would also have to end later. What if a lot of children have important responsibilities after school, such as picking up younger siblings from primary school and taking care of them? What about extra-curricular activities like sports? Students could be arriving home a lot later than usual.
As well as this, a later start time would create many transportation issues for the school district. A lot of parents have children both at high school and primary school, which would make it very awkward for parents if they have to drop everyone off at different times of the day.
Another reason why the proposal is great in theory but not so much in practice, is because a later start time could encourage a lot of students to stay up later. This is worrying because they would be taking advantage of the whole system and not use the extra hour for its proper purpose (sleeping or working). If pupils stay up later, they will therefore be more tired in the morning, even with the additional hour-this is the exact opposite effect we want to achieve.
Teachers. We haven’t mention them yet. They are also affected by this petition, since all of their schedules would have to be rotated and separated. With over 100 teachers in a school and around and average of 1000 pupils, this would create a mammoth task to organise timetables and lessons.
In conclusion, this is a dilemma. By solving one issue, we may be creating another. The current system, although not perfect, does not create as many problems as we may think. As teenagers grow into responsible adults, does this mean they would expect work to start at their convenience too?
So, think carefully before you decide: should school start at 10am?
The Hollins Press 