Later Start Time Essay

The start time of secondary school in New Zealand is too early, with the majority of schools starting before 9am. This early start time is starting to damage the learning and health of students, yet nothing is happening to resolve or even acknowledge the problem of them being tired. Often the common response to this as that they are too 'lazy' and need to go to bed earlier. Teenagers are forced to go with this traditional timetable for schooling, however modern research on teenage body clocks tell a different story. If we were to implement a later start time for high schools to benefit students, would this be the answer?

Doctors recommends that teenagers should sleep at least eight to ten hours per night, whereas almost 70% of high school students get around seven hours or less sleep on a regular basis. The reason teenagers need more sleep is that

Wellington High School has a 10:15 am start for their year 12 and 13 students. This later start time had been introduced in 2002 as an experiment, but in 2006, the later start time was accepted as the permanent start time for the senior students. They avoid finishing later by condensing all of their work into a shorter amount of time so they are still able to finish at 3:20 pm with the other students. Former principal Prue Kelly, states that the later start time has had a positive impact on the students, as they were more focused and eager to learn. The senior students still have the option to start earlier if they want to fit in extra subjects but they were able to appreciate how they could get up in the morning and not have a battle with themselves to get up and get ready, and they were still able to get to school at an appropriate time. This real life example shows how having a later start time works for students and that it would be able to help them do well in school, whilst meeting their biological