Seanjd
Player Valuation: £30m
Ok, fair enough. Tripe was a strong word, I take that back.
Don't you think that the big summer holiday creates an annual slump that you have to raise yourself out of? I always remember as a kid the joy of finishing for summer, and the despair of starting again in September. Perhaps scrapping the long summer break and turning all half terms into two weeks would standardise the school year a bit more and create an 11 year continuous learning period for kids, making them more receptive to learning rather than the pretty much wasted first few weeks of the Autumn term as kids gradually get up to speed just in time for the Christmas holidays!
I agree with your continuous learning point by sharing the holidays out a bit. The Autumn term is used to get children back on track after 6 weeks of little education. That's talking of where I work, anyway.
There does, however, need to be a longer break between academic years for a number of reasons. Firstly, part of me does believe that children should have the opportunity to be children; and what better time to do it than during an extended break in the summer? Also, in my school, you usually don't spend more than one or two years maximum in the same year group/classroom so there is lots of moving around to keep things fresh. Changing classrooms and year groups genuinely takes weeks of preparation. From kitting out a new room, doing new displays, planning short and long term, etc etc, there's a lot to do. Finally, schools often use this extended break to take on major building work.