School holiday shake-up could extend peak season
The travel industry's six-week peak summer season could be extended to two months under government plans to shake-up the school calendar.
Education secretary Michael Gove yesterday announced plans for new academies and free schools to have a more flexible, month-long summer break.
State schools have normally taken a six-week break from the end of July to the beginning of September, but under government plans the summer holiday would be shortened to just four weeks to be taken any time from the beginning of July to the end of September.
Although some reports have suggested this could force tour operators to shorten their peak season, it could have the opposite effect of pushing up prices at the beginning of July and for the last three weeks of September.
There will be 1,100 new academies by next year and the government hopes 100 free schools will be established by 2012. Under powers granted last year, they are allowed to set their own term dates and radically alter the school timetable.
As well as switching from three to six terms a year, schools may lengthen their hours to last from 8am to 8pm and those with large numbers of pupils may open 51 weeks of the year.
General secretary of the teachers' union NUT described the plans as 'ridiculous'.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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