Changes to school terms will cut the cost of holidays

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Proposed changes to school terms could make family holidays much more affordable.

The changes could lead to summer holidays being cut from six to four weeks, with extra time off at Christmas, Easter and half terms.

Travel firms say that this would put families under less pressure to organise a family holiday in July or August, when prices are highest.

Councils in Hull and the East Riding are consulting with parents about changes to traditional school holidays to even out the length of school terms. This follows a similar move by Nottingham City Council, which is keen to spread holidays more evenly from September.

Many teachers also believe that this would also improve performance as academic standards often slip after spending several weeks away from school.

This ties in with the views of Education Secretary Michael Gove, who has suggested that independently run academies should cut summer breaks to four weeks to boost leaning.

And John Kileen, East Riding branch secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said he would be open to an "equalisation" of teaching periods.

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