Timings of the School Day

The school runs on a two week cycle (i.e. students have two versions of their timetable which alternate each week). The day begins at 8.30am and students attend four lessons in the morning/midday and one in the afternoon with a 20 minute break and 35 minute lunch in between. There is also a five minute 'changeover' between lessons to give students time to move between rooms and buildings across the site.  This equates to 32.5 hours per week. The school day ends at 3.00pm, apart from the last day of term which, at the discretion of the school, finishes at lunchtime.

During the summer exam period (approximately five weeks), to enable us to run the external exams, the format of the school day changes to three lessons before lunch and two after as shown below.

Lunch*

During lunch break it is compulsory for students in Years 7-11 to stay on-site, unless their parents have specifically requested that they go home for lunch or to attend an appointment.

Absence

Hazelwick has always recognised the importance of good attendance and has in place long-established and effective systems to monitor absence, address particular problems and recognise excellence. We have always valued the support we have received from parents over matters of attendance and punctuality and recognise the fact that most children attend school every day. However, please would all parents bear in mind the following:  

• Wherever possible, fix medical appointments for outside school time, otherwise a written request to the Head of Year must be made in advance.
• Ensure that your child is in school on time to register with his/her form teacher. This effectively means that they will need to be on the school site by 8.25am.

If your child is unable to attend school due to illness or some other unavoidable reason, please ring the school reception on 01293 403344 at the earliest possible time on the first day of absence. When they return please confirm the details of the absence in a letter to your child’s form teacher.

The Department for Education has recently made changes to the guidance regarding the rights of parents to take family holidays during term time. These amendments make clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Therefore, holidays during school time will not be authorised for students in any year group.

Only unavoidable, exceptional circumstances for a leave of absence from learning will now be considered by the Headteacher. It is anticipated that such situations will be rare and any request must clearly illustrate why such a leave of absence should be considered.

To view Term dates please use the link below.