Following a consultation with their key stakeholders regarding proposals to make changes to the timings of the school day, Millthorpe School and York High School have announced the outcomes this week.
At the end of January, the schools, which both belong to Excel Learning Trust, proposed adjustments to the school day in order to better support their students’ academic performance and overall wellbeing, as well as to support staff workload and wellbeing.
The original proposals included a slightly earlier start time (Millthorpe: 8.30am instead of the current start time of 8.45am and York High: 8.30am instead of the current start time of 8.40am) and an earlier finish time of 2.35pm, instead of the current time of 3.15pm at Millthorpe and 3.10pm at York High. Under the proposed arrangements, each school would then offer a wide range of high-quality enrichment activities to allow students to develop as individuals, stay healthy, support their academic progress and make their school experience more memorable and enjoyable. It was also suggested that the school day should start with a lesson, with form time being moved to later in the day.
The consultation ran from 31 January to 23 February, during which time both schools gathered feedback from parents, students, and staff.
Having taken all feedback into account, the schools have made some important changes to their original proposals and from September 2025, the following changes will come into effect:
- Both schools will start at 8.40am (with gates opening at 8.25am).
- Pupils at both schools will start their day with form time.
- Both schools will finish at 2.45pm.
- A host of enrichment opportunities will be available to all students, every day from 2.45-3.30pm.
- York High will introduce ‘movement time’ at the beginning and end of each lesson, and this will be extended to all lessons at Millthorpe, enabling students to transition to their next class without the worry of being late.
- Millthorpe students will have staggered break and lunch times to accommodate the larger number of students.
Commenting on the outcomes of the consultation, Kavina Rothenburg, Acting Principal of Millthorpe School said “We’ve had lots of really useful, constructive feedback and my team and I would like to thank everyone who has fed into the process. In addition to receiving lots of written feedback, Mr Kumar and I also both met face-to-face with parents, students and staff, which gave us the opportunity to answer questions and give reassurance, but more importantly to listen to their views. Given the feedback, we have made some important changes, most notably to our start and finish times and keeping form time at the start of the school day.”
Principal of York High School, Gavin Kumar added “Thank you to those who shared their thoughts with us. It has been incredibly helpful to hear such a wide range of views and gather invaluable feedback. We’re really looking forward to implementing the new schedule, particularly the introduction of a whole host of enrichment activities, which will have a positive effect not only on students’ wellbeing but also in engagement in their learning.”
The outcomes of the consultation, together with detailed information about the new school day timings, have been communicated to parents, students and staff this week.
5 March 2025
