UK school scraps terms so parents can take children on holiday when they want

Shrewsbury Prepatoria School. Photo / Google Earth

A school in the UK has scrapped the traditional school terms so that parents can take their children on holiday whenever they want.

The school, Shrewsbury Prepatoria, has decided to stay open for 48 weeks of the year and parents are allowed to take their children on holiday at any point during the year.

It costs about NZ$12,000 in yearly fees to send a child aged between four and seven to this school.

Some parents claim the cost is offset by being able to go on holiday outside peak times.

"The long summer holidays aren't good for anyone," Sarah Golden, who's five-year-old son attends the school, told the Daily Mail.

Headteacher Jane Smalley says parents, on average, take their children out of school for four weeks, on top of the four weeks the school closes over Christmas and Easter.

"It's a no brainer," she said.

"Why shouldn't we have schools that meet the need of families?"

"Family holidays, taken outside of school terms are expensive, so we've arranged for our families to take up to nine weeks annual leave, without penalty, at anytime of the year," the school website says.

"Imagine the savings you could make!"