There has been a generally positive reaction from Illawarra teachers and schools to a proposed trial to overhaul the 9am to 3pm school day.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Even some parents have backed the "flexibility" finishing school earlier provides for students and families alike.
The trial slated to start later this year will use teaching models from before and after school tutoring programs established during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moves to overhaul the school day were ramped up by NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on Monday.
The Premier voiced support for modernising the school day, when he announced a landmark women's economic review to increase female workforce participation and help shape the state budget.
Dapto High School principal Andrew FitzSimons said exploring a trial seemed a sensible idea.
He said the school's start time of 8.28am was one of the earliest for a public high school in the Illawarra.
"I think the research says that adolescents, particularly males like to stay up late and get up late," Mr FitzSimons said.
"If you were running a school for the benefits of adolescents you would probably start at 10am. But schools are just part of an incredibly complex set of community arrangements.
"We've explored for example doing sport in the morning rather than at 12.40pm, which is the peak solar radiation time.
"Being prepared to rethink I think is smart.
"I don't know what the right answer is but not just accepting everything as it currently is makes sense to me."
Read more: No new COVID deaths in Illawarra Shoalhaven
A trial overhauling regular school hours at 12 schools was due to commence this year, but was delayed due to the pandemic.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said NSW's $720 million COVID before and after school tutoring program had allowed schools to trial new teaching styles that could be applied under a staggered school hours model.
Edmund Rice College, a Catholic all-boys secondary school in Mount Keira, switched to an 8am to 2pm day for all students after extensive consultation.
"It's always been a positive element to our school and it's a point of difference that works for us," principal Stephen Gough said.
"They're actually able to engage in a way that maximises their learning time in the classroom."
Mr Gough said it allowed students more time to pursue extra-curricular activities including part-time work, representative sport and after-school study groups.
Ana Steele, whose two sons attend Edmund Rice College, was a fan of the earlier school start and finish time.
"From our perspective it is a really good thing the boys are home earlier. They get the chance to unwind a little bit before getting into their after school activities, which involves sport and part-time jobs," Mrs Steele said.
Though not all were fans of the trial.
NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos told the Sydney Morning Herald that talk of overhauling the school day was a distraction designed to grab headlines.
"We have serious issues concerning education, top of the list is a significant teacher shortage, with underlying causes of uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads," he said.
Mr Gavrielatos said school starting and finishing times already varied across NSW.
Schools will be able to apply for the trial through an expression of interest process under development. The trial is expected to start in term three.
The government first revealed its intention to overhaul the traditional six-hour school day as a key productivity measure in last year's budget.
Staggering start and finish times under the proposal would aim to boost productivity and flexibility for families, while also addressing the rising cost of traffic congestion.
More flexible school arrangements can be found in a number of countries overseas.
Brazil, China, South Africa and South Korea have school start times ranging from 7am to 8am.
In France, students are in school for eight hours from 8am some days, but most get Wednesday afternoon off.
Long lunch breaks allowing students to go home to eat with family are built in to many school schedules in Japan and Spain.
Students in South Korea are provided with lunch, with school running from 7:30am until 2pm.
To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Sign up for breaking news emails below ...
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
