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Queen Anne’s School, Caversham, tests 11am start for sleepy teenagers
A private school is to experiment with 11am start times, drawing on research that shows teenagers have a biological predisposition to go to bed at about midnight and get up late. They are not properly awake until around 10am, and learn most effectively in the afternoon.
Queen Anne’s School in Caversham, near Reading, will run a 11am to 7pm day for sixth-formers for a week this summer. It will also timetable “harder lessons” in the afternoon to “echo teenage biorhythms”.
Parents have been told about the importance of strict bedtimes — 9pm for those aged 11-14 and 10pm for those aged 16-18. Julia Harrington, the head teacher, believes teenage sleep deprivation could be linked to mental health problems such as depression.
Ms Harrington is chairing a panel on innovation in education at next month’s annual conference of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference for the heads of leading independent schools.
See also: 'Letting teenagers start late? Routine is something they have to learn – deal with it'
'FOMO' affects parents as well as children, leading headmaster says
Fear of missing out - better known as "Fomo" - affects parents as well as children, a leading headmaster has said, as they experience vicarious social angst on behalf of their offspring.
David Lloyd, headmaster of Solihull School, said that prolific social media use among both parents and children is to blame for the growing phenomenon.
According to Mr Lloyd, "Fomo" is the new "Keeping Up With the Joneses", as parents see evidence of the extra-curricular activities that their children's peers are doing and become jealous.
"It seems pupils are increasingly suffering from the social media condition, Fomo," said Mr Lloyd
"Understandably, this fear is shared by many parents even though they are worried about what their child might encounter when joining in."
He said that a range of activities could prompt the Fomo feeling among parents – for example, a social function, a music practise, a drama rehearsal or sports training.
Fear of missing out is a type of social anxiety, which has been defined by Andrew Przybylski at the University of Essex as the fear that other people might be having rewarding experiences that you’re missing.
It is exacerbated by social media, where you can see photographs, videos or updates about what your friends are doing.