THE school year is traditionally split into three terms, with youngsters having two-week Christmas and Easter breaks and a summer holiday of six weeks.
In the majority of schools, lessons start at around 9am and end between 3pm and 3.30pm.
But if Education Secretary Michael Gove has his way, that will change.
He firmly believes children should be in school for longer every day – to help them get used to the workplace – and should not have such long summer holidays.
The latter issue is something which has been hotly debated in Nottingham for some time, with the city council planning to split the school year into five terms before settling on another formula, which sees a five-week summer break.
The man behind that move, Councillor David Mellen, has urged caution when talking about shorter holidays.
He said: "The current balance of school holidays as things stand is not right.
"The move we are looking towards now is one where they are much more equal, so if that is what Mr Gove looks at we would welcome it.
"The Government would be right to look at it, but there would need to be significant consultation, as we have done in the city."
Mr Mellen, who is portfolio holder for children's services at the city council, added: "The idea that there could be a longer school day is a good one, but as long as it is not spent simply in extra lessons.
"Many schools already do have before and after-school sessions and clubs, so if more provision is made for these, then that could be a good thing."
Mr Mellen's counterpart at Notts County Council, Councillor Philip Owen, who has decided to follow a similar holiday pattern to the city, was also unsure about Mr Gove's proposals.
He said: "The Government can't afford to be so prescriptive. In Notts we changed our holiday pattern after consultation with all the stakeholders.
"I don't think you can apply the same holiday concept universally. And I feel that longer terms can prove to be counter-productive.
"Many schools do have sessions outside of what you consider the normal school day. More research has to be done on the length of the school day and set that against Mr Gove's plans."
A city teacher, who didn't want to be named, fears having a longer school day, especially for younger children.
"It is unnecessary," she said. "Children become tired as things are, so having longer terms and longer days will make it increasingly hard for them and us as teachers to keep their attention."
Ivan Wels, from the Notts branch of the National Union of Teachers, has labelled Mr Gove's plans "madness".
He said: "All of the best educational systems in the world, like Finland, have longer holidays. So the idea that shorter holidays and longer terms could help is nonsense."
At Djanogly City Academy, they have five terms per school year, while the Djanogly Learning Trust which runs it is looking to open a new science and technology academy for 14 to 19-year-olds where students will work until around 5pm.
Mike Butler, chief executive of the trust, believes the longer days are ideal for older students, less so for the younger ones.
He said: "What it does is get young people ready for work. So rather than leaving school, where you finish at around 3.30pm and going into a job where you finish at 5pm or 5.30pm or even after 6pm, you are more prepared.
"But there is a big issue with tiredness, especially among younger students."
