Secondary school closing-time on Fridays.

political analyst

It used to be the case that, Monday to Friday, the secondary school-day ended a few minutes before 4 PM. A few years before the pandemic, those schools started closing shortly after 1 PM on Fridays. What was the reason for that change? I've asked teachers at the secondary school at which I was a pupil and they don't know.

Gregor Samsa

It gives the kids a chance to get something to eat before heading to the pub. I know some people say eating is cheating, but I always found the hangovers were much worse when I went straight from school to the pub back in the day, and it showed in my grades. My kids, on the other hand, get in a burger and curry-cheese chips in Supermacs first, and they’re flying it in their tests.

freshpopcorn

I finished school in 2011 and I went to college I met people from city schools and they got a half day on Wednesday.

Later on in 2011 my old secondary school got a new principal and they started up the half days on Friday.

It's going on since a long before Covid.

From my understanding at the time they cut class time a little.(This may have been due to government cut backs.) And the cut time off their lunch breaks.

Strumms

Local school had a half day every Wednesday. I’m pretty sure they only had a 30 or 40 minute lunch though.

I went to a school a bit further away… we had the full hour and finished at 4…

Tork

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058324326/secondary-school-closing-time-on-fridays

My cynical thoughts are that once teachers got used to finishing up early on Fridays, they didn't want to give it up again.

Dial Hard

I'm not sure this is a recent thing. I finished school in 1999 and we got a half day every Wednesday for staff meetings or something.

Hippodrome Song Owl

Secondary school students receive 28 hours of contact time per week. That hasn't changed in a very long time - decades. It's up to each school to organise their timetable. A half day has been a thing in many schools for decades. No need for cynical conspiracy theories.

mikemac2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121414857#Comment_121414857

So did I and I never got a half day. 🤔

Our hours were 9-4 with a lunch hour. If schools were getting half days I must assume the teachers and students added the time somewhere. Like 30 minutes each day. Shorter lunch breaks mentioned on the thread, makes sense.

We were on the battered death trap rusted to scrap Bus Eireann cast off yellow Bus Scoile. Heath and Safety howarya? So the buses ran according to the schools

Anaki r2d2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121415019#Comment_121415019

Your a teacher?

dickdasr1234

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121415426#Comment_121415426

A teacher of English, hopefully!

Trampas

I finished school in the 90’s and it was 9-4 Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri with an hour lunch from 1-2. Half day Wed at 1. Fri for me seem to end with a double class of practical like art, woodwork or tech drawing over the years. 9 classes and 6 classes a day on the half day

iniscealtra

Lunch is much shorter in many schools now. 35 minutes

ZX7R

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121415019#Comment_121415019

School I went to nearly 30 years ago was one of the first to Introduce it on a trial.

What ever group involved at the time recommend Wednesdays as it broke the week for the students and also sport matches were to be played that day so teaching time would not be missed.

I know guidance teachers representatives were hugely involved at the time.

Happyhouse22

It’s just a different way of dividing the school day- weird that the teachers you asked couldn’t explain.

There are 28hrs of class time in the week. Schools can divide this up as they see fit. The most common would be 42 forty minute periods and or 28 1 hour periods. But I am sure there are schools who have 35, 45 or 50 minute classes too.

When I was in school it was 9 to 3.40 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. 9 classes each day with 40 min non teaching time divided into two breaks. On Wednesday we finished at 13.10 only having 6 classes and 10 mins of break time.

Many schools are changing from 40 minute classes to 1 hour classes at the moment so that could definitely account for changes in timetables. For example maybe they do 6 1 hour classes Mon- Thurs and then the remaining four hours on Friday (lines up well with the 1pm finish you mention).

Can yiu remember how long the classes were when you were in school?

iniscealtra

A lot of schools have training on Fridays after school.

I haven’t heard of any matchs played after school though.

Hippodrome Song Owl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121415426#Comment_121415426

No.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121415258#Comment_121415258

Our day was 8.50 - 3.30 with 35 minutes for lunch.

spurious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121415588#Comment_121415588

That was done in at least one Dublin city centre school to avoid local filth getting kids to deliver packages containing pharmaceuticals.

Peter Flynt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121414577#Comment_121414577

Mod

Warned for this .

spurious

The weird lengths of classes (37 minutes etc.) are reflective of the mess Irish schools are in since teachers do not get full positions. In the old days a teacher of (say) Maths was available for x number of full classes per week, but now, with partial contracts and all the messing that has gone on, to give classes 5 classes of Maths (or whatever) per week, minutes have to be saved here and there. 15 minutes a week saved over a large number of teachers may allow the school to put in a minority interest subject, or allow the Ordinary level class to be seperate from Higher Level, or to offer a Higher Level class in some subjects.

It's an art form in itself managing timetables. A nightmare really.

Sunjava

The half day in secondary school is unnecessary but has been around a long time...

The one I can't understand is why we accept primary schools tossing kids out at 1.30 & 2.30 and having to scramble to get them to after-school. Who does that suit..

Peter Flynt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121415875#Comment_121415875

Schools are not creches. If you don't want to mind your own kids then don't have any.

Padraig Mor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121415594#Comment_121415594

One of the first and it being a trial - dunno about that. I started secondary in the 80s and always had a half day Wednesday - and it wasn't a new thing when I started either

Sunjava

There we go with the typical nasty response.

What about when both parents work.. why can't after-school be provided within the schools. It doesn't have to be the same teacher. It's the arrangement that is in many other European countries.

Rawr

I went to secondary school in the 90s and I remember at least one half-day baked into the timetable. It was usually a Friday but I think some years it could float over to Wednesday. What I also remember was a fairly long lunch break of about 45 mins. I was a 10 min walk from home, so I’d go home for the break which devided up the day nicely.

On the half-day you’d often have a situation of walking back to the school for just an hour, and then leaving again.

ZX7R

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121415897#Comment_121415897

Questionnaires were handed out to the parents about it.

Possibly one of the fist outside of Dublin

Padraig Mor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121416018#Comment_121416018

Varied from place to place I guess. This was Cork btw.

ZX7R

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121416057#Comment_121416057

Possibly just the school I went to over 30 years ago so the memory might not be the best

We used to finish 30 mins early on Thursday & Friday when I was in school.

3:45pm Mon-Wed & 3:15pm Thurs & Fri. The Mrs would finish at 1 o’clock on Wednesday’s in her school at the time.

Badly Drunk Boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121416018#Comment_121416018

I started secondary school in 1985, and in 1987 or '88 they brought in the half-day on Wednesday. Instead of getting our lunch-break on a Wednesday, we did one extra class and then we were finished. This was in Kildare.

Rothko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121415019#Comment_121415019

The OP never mentioned anything about conspiracy theories.