French schoolchildren have some of the longest school days in the world, I believe; some of them start at 8h30 in the morning and don't finish till 17h30 in the evening, although they might have two hours off for lunch at mid-day.
What that buys is a great school holiday schedule, unless you're a pair of working parents; in which case it can become a nightmare of workarounds. Instead of three solid months of summer vacation, like most American children, French children have a fairly short amount of time in the summer, but they get ten days to two weeks in October (the Toussaint holiday), two weeks at Christmas, two weeks in February or early March, and two-and-a-half weeks in April (usually). The month of May is full of three- or four-day weekends, and then the children have school until the end of June. The calendar is staggered according to three regions; Paris has one calendar, and the rest of France is divided in half.
This means that if you are traveling in France, it's a good idea to keep an eye on the calendrier des vacances scolaires to make sure you're not trying to get somewhere on a Day of Great Departures (jour de grand départ) if you can possibly avoid it. Yesterday was one in Paris. Prices go up and vacation areas become crowded, while the cities empty out as families leave. Don't say I didn't warn you!
What that buys is a great school holiday schedule, unless you're a pair of working parents; in which case it can become a nightmare of workarounds. Instead of three solid months of summer vacation, like most American children, French children have a fairly short amount of time in the summer, but they get ten days to two weeks in October (the Toussaint holiday), two weeks at Christmas, two weeks in February or early March, and two-and-a-half weeks in April (usually). The month of May is full of three- or four-day weekends, and then the children have school until the end of June. The calendar is staggered according to three regions; Paris has one calendar, and the rest of France is divided in half.
This means that if you are traveling in France, it's a good idea to keep an eye on the calendrier des vacances scolaires to make sure you're not trying to get somewhere on a Day of Great Departures (jour de grand départ) if you can possibly avoid it. Yesterday was one in Paris. Prices go up and vacation areas become crowded, while the cities empty out as families leave. Don't say I didn't warn you!
UK school holiday calander is almost identical, the weeks are spread out through out the year instead of the full three months in summer. Vacation can happen when convenient instead of being restricted to just summer. Far better.
Posted by: chase | 02 March 2013 at 19:01
The French school day is too long, I would agree with that, having experienced it myself. Yet, what a relief for working moms who do not have to pay for expensive daycare after 3:00pm as they do in the US. As for the way the vacation schedule is organized, I much prefer the French one. Who needs three months off in the summer? What are parents supposed to do with the children while they are working? Summer camps are so expensive...
As for other breaks, my son is a 7th grader and he never gets to really unwind during mid-winter or spring breaks (he just gets one week off.) There is no real break between September and Christmas either. The children are exhausted by the end of the first quarter. I would much rather he had the Toussaint Holiday in October...
Different cultures. Different approach to leisure time, and life in general.
Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
Posted by: French Girl in Seattle | 02 March 2013 at 19:25
France is also the only country that I know that designed the "zones" for school holidays. I.e. Parisian kids start their holiday later than kids in Nice (or the opposite, can't remember).
Posted by: Zhu | 02 March 2013 at 23:21
Don't forget that kids in France have every wednsday off - which is a big problem for both working parents. Besides that, kids in France they have a lot of days off and holidays! I live in France for more than 1 year but I've noticesd that in my country children they don't have so many days off like in France. In my opinion is even too much - when you and your husband works - you have a big problems with days off from school for your children.
Posted by: Magdalena | 04 March 2013 at 18:47
In other eauropean countries there are zones for winter vacation for example. France is not the only one in that matter.
Posted by: Magdalena | 04 March 2013 at 18:49
Just to add that most public schools in America have afterschool programs which enable working parents to pick their kids up at 5:00pm when the workday is over. Also, there are school buses allowing kids to be "latch-kay" kids and don't rely on parents to pick them up at the end of the day.
What I know is that by 3:00, when I was a kid, I was ready to go home and rest. I really dread my daughter spending so much of her day at school. I wish there was some opt out option.
Posted by: nicole in paris | 06 March 2013 at 21:40