YEAR 7 HOMEWORK BUCKS GRAMMAR
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Grammar school children, at least in our area, have a longer commute on average than children at other state schools. (This is confirmed in the council's own figures.)
My year 7 child spends two hours a day travelling (an hour each way); it's longer if the trains are delayed. From what I have seen I would say that this sort of journey time is a "high average" for her school. Some children have shorter commutes but others definitely have longer ones.
By the time she has got changed and sat down for a minute it is past 5pm. After school activities can't start before about 5:30 so by the time even a half hour class has finished, we've come home and had dinner it's at least 7pm. She might sit down to start homework at about 7:30. Given that most children of this age need both time to wind down before bed and about 10 hours sleep (ideally), this doesn't give her all that long to work if she is to be up early the next morning.
Homework should not be set, in my opinion, unless really necessary to reinforce learning. I would be furious if I thought she was getting "busy work" just for the sake of it. I also don't like holiday work unless there is a particular need for it. Children need time to relax without anything hanging over them.
My year 7 child spends two hours a day travelling (an hour each way); it's longer if the trains are delayed. From what I have seen I would say that this sort of journey time is a "high average" for her school. Some children have shorter commutes but others definitely have longer ones.
By the time she has got changed and sat down for a minute it is past 5pm. After school activities can't start before about 5:30 so by the time even a half hour class has finished, we've come home and had dinner it's at least 7pm. She might sit down to start homework at about 7:30. Given that most children of this age need both time to wind down before bed and about 10 hours sleep (ideally), this doesn't give her all that long to work if she is to be up early the next morning.
Homework should not be set, in my opinion, unless really necessary to reinforce learning. I would be furious if I thought she was getting "busy work" just for the sake of it. I also don't like holiday work unless there is a particular need for it. Children need time to relax without anything hanging over them.
