Yahoo News MPs to consider debating if schools should start at 10am as teenagers are too tired
Parliament will consider debating if schools should start at 10am because teenagers are too tired.
MPs may debate the proposal in the House of Commons after an online petition reached the required threshold.
The petition, titled “School should start at 10am as teenagers are too tired”, has received more than the needed 100,000 signatures to force Parliament into considering the issue.
It features in the petitions section of the UK Government and Parliament website.
The site says Parliament will consider the motion for debate, and a debate date could be finalised within two days.
The petition reads: “Teenagers are so tired due to having to wake up very early to get to school.
“The government should require secondary schools to start later, which will lead to increased productivity at school.”
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Parliament considers all petitions for a debate which get more than 100,000 signatures.
The petition was created by Hannah Kidner.
There have already been examples of schools in the UK putting their start time back from 9am to 10am, as several studies claim they lead to an increase in productivity among pupils and even better exam results.
In 2017, a study by the Open University carried out at an English state school showed that a later start also led to improved mental and physical health.
Students at the school started at 10am instead of the usual 8.30am, leading to a decrease in illness and better grades.
“The big issue about school times is health,” said Dr Paul Kelley of the Open University at the time.
“It starts with physical illness, and then there’s mental illness, and last but not least academic performance.”
In the same year, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine stated that “delaying school start times positively impacts student achievement, health and safety”.
