School Terms (Hansard, 8 July 1991)

§ Mr. Pawsey
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any plans to change the number of weeks children spend in school.

§ Mr. Eggar
My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to alter existing arrangements which provide that schools—nursery classes and schools excepted—must meet for 380 half-day sessions in each school year.

§ Mr. Pawsey
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will arrange for the examining boards to reschedule examinations so that children spend more of the summer term in school.

§ Mr. Eggar
The GCSE and GCE examination timetables are a matter for the examining bodies concerned. However, my right hon. and learned Friend has recently discussed the matter of the GCSE examination timetable with representatives of the joint council for the GCSE, and we understand that the timetable is likely to start a week later in 1992 than it did this year.

§ Mr. Pawsey
To ask the Secretary of Slate for Education and Science how much of the school term remains unexpired after GCSE and A-level examinations have been completed: and what plans he has to ensure that the time is fully utilised.

§ Mr. Eggar
The dates of school terms are determined locally, while the dates of GCSE and GCE examinations vary according to both the examination boards' timetables and to the subjects taken by individual pupils.
If pupils attending school after taking external examinations are not involved in courses required under the national curriculum, this time could with advantage be used constructively, for instance to secure careeers guidance or to gain work experience.
As announced in the White Paper "Training and Education for the 21st Century"—Cmnd. 1536—the Government intend to legislate to abolish the present Easter and May school-leaving dates in favour of a single date at the end of the summer term.