Pupils at an Aberdeen secondary school have lashed out at their “unfair” amount of study leave which ends a week before the end of all exams.
Students at Harlaw Academy have been told to return to classes on Monday, May 20, despite some teenagers still having to sit exams in creative subjects that week.
Pupils said they were disappointed that the new timetable had been scheduled to start so soon at the school, which gained a gold rights respecting schools award last year.
The UNICEF UK award recognises the commitment of teaching staff to children’s rights at all levels at the school.
One pupil, who did not want to be named, said: “Harlaw claims to be a rights respecting school yet they will not listen to the pupils when they do not agree with us – it is extremely unfair.
“One senior teacher described creative subjects like Drama, Media, Art and Modern Languages as being weird and wonderful – but for some pupils these creative subjects could be vital for them getting into college or university.
“I know some other pupils are getting extremely stressed about the whole thing – stress levels are going through the roof.”
Another pupil started an online petition – which has gained almost 150 signatures – urging the head teacher to rethink the return date for classes to help students reach their full potential.
Study leave began last week and pupils are expected to return on May 20 to begin the timetable for next year’s curriculum.
However, the examination timetable does not finish until May 31, with Higher and National 5 Care papers listed as the final day’s exams on the SQA website.
Teenagers are also currently studying for a Drama exam on May 23 and an Art and Design exam the following day.
Other exams timetabled for the end of May include Graphic Communication, Computing Science, Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies (RMPS) and Geography.
It’s understood other schools in the city allow their pupils to stay off for the duration of the exam timetable.
Aberdeen City Council said the dates for study leave at Harlaw have been in the calendar since August last year and were developed with input from staff, parents and pupils.
Head teacher David Innes wrote to parents this week to address the issues raised by the petition, questioning the validity of some of the signatures.
He said he had received a petition last week containing 90 signatures, of which 79 of those were current pupils.
In the letter Mr Innes went on to say that some names were not known to them, including someone signing off as “Uncle Pat”.
He added: “It includes 26 pupils who have an exam after May 20 – seniors in this situation will have times where they can study in school or at home.
“We shall evaluate how the return on May 20 goes as part of the process of agreeing the school calendar for 2019-20.”
