‘Knackered’ public school students should get same winter break as private school students

Exhausted students and staff at public schools should get the same three-week winter term break that many private schools now enjoy, according to the head of WA’s peak body for high school principals.

WA Secondary School Executives Association president Melissa Gillett floated the idea of introducing a longer break at public schools — which has not been put forward for any formal consideration — because after six months of schooling, students were “knackered.”

She said adding an extra week would give staff and students a decent break and stop the spread of winter coughs and colds.

Some private schools began shifting from a fortnight’s leave to a longer, three-week July break a decade ago, partly because many families wanted to travel during the northern hemisphere summer.

Most independent schools in WA now trim a few days off their summer break to add to their mid-year holidays. Catholic Education WA is also considering the move.

The extra week during winter means families at some schools can take advantage of cheaper flights and accommodation to escape during the coldest part of the year.

Ms Gillett said while private schools could make up the week by adding extra time to the school day, public schools were restricted to a specified number of hours of instruction for the number of weeks in the year.

“I think it’s something that perhaps we should chat about, as a community, simply because it does seem to be working,” she said. “It would require a legislative change to hours of instruction, so kids’ instruction time is not reduced.

“There are a few people who cynically say ‘the privates only get it because that’s when the weather’s best in Europe’ — but it’s about giving students a bigger break, stopping illnesses from spreading as much.”

A spokesperson for Catholic Education WA said while none of its schools had implemented a three-week break, it was under consideration.

“We continue to explore whether a three-week holiday period is right for our schools and any decision will be subject to a thorough consultation,” they said.

Claremont private girls’ school Methodist Ladies’ College is breaking for three weeks for the first time this year, starting on Friday.

Principal Rebecca Clarke said she was aware of the benefits of the longer break, having come from interstate where a three-week mid-year school break was well-established.

“It means that it just gives an added time of rest and refreshment and rejuvenation for our students and for our staff,” she said.

“We looked really carefully at how we could enhance learning, and brought the students back a little earlier at the beginning of this year. That affords us the third week of the break in the middle of the year, which arrives at a really good time — when it’s flu season, people are tired, it’s cold, so they can have additional time to recover, to feel energised.”

Public schools will break for two weeks on July 4, with students returning to classes on July 21.

A spokesperson for the Education Department said term dates were gazetted until 2028 and could not be changed.

“Non-government schools have the flexibility to set their own term dates and holiday periods provided they meet the minimum hours of instruction,” the spokesperson said. “In public schools, four terms of approximately 10 weeks, with two weeks of holidays between them, supports curriculum delivery and continuity of student learning.”