'Super School' without playground

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the implications of a new state school in the UK, specifically the Thomas Deacon Academy, which will not have an outdoor space for students. Participants express their views on the importance of outdoor areas for physical activity and mental well-being in educational settings.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express concern that students will struggle to concentrate without outdoor breaks, emphasizing the need for physical activity.
  • Others reflect on their own experiences in high school, noting that outdoor time was often limited to gym class or specific breaks.
  • There is a recurring theme regarding the systematic reduction of sports and physical activity facilities in UK schools over the past two decades.
  • Some participants admire the American educational system for its balance between mental and physical activities, suggesting that the UK should consider similar approaches.
  • A few participants share personal anecdotes about their school experiences, highlighting differences in policies regarding outdoor access during school hours.
  • One participant mentions that their school encouraged outdoor activity to prevent misbehavior, suggesting a potential benefit of outdoor time for student behavior.
  • There are discussions about the structure of the school day in both the UK and the US, with some participants noting differences in how schools manage outdoor time and physical education.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the importance of outdoor space for students, but there are multiple competing views regarding how essential it is for high school students specifically. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best approach to integrating outdoor time into the school day.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that their experiences may not reflect the broader educational landscape, indicating that assumptions about student needs and school policies can vary significantly by region and school type.

Hootenanny
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BBC News said:
The most expensive state school in the UK will not have an outdoor space for students when it opens in September.
Alan McMurdo, head of Peterborough's £46.4m Thomas Deacon Academy, said: "I think what the public want is maximum learning."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/6629655.stm"

Comments...?
 
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Shame that! Not a school I would want to attend.

While I enjoyed learning in the classroom or studying/reading in the library, I also needed to get outside and burn off energy.
 
I can't imagine high school students being capable of sitting through several hours of work without going outside. I myself need a break every few hours where I can just walk around outside, otherwise my concentration goes out the window.

Some pictures of the new development; http://www.deaconsschool.co.uk/features/multipage/?mpid=10 Looks more like an office block to me rather than a school.
 
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The sports and physical activity facilities in Uk schools have been systematically dismantled over the past 20 years. One thing I admire in the American system is the seemingly equal emphasis on mental and physical activity, and with the increasing waitslines of the people in the UK one would think that they should be heading in the opposite direction.

EDIT: Yey congrats on gold status Hoot!
 
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Some of favorit classes were held outside on the lawn in good weather. I can't imagine being inside all day. Poor kids.
 
Kurdt said:
The sports and physical activity facilities in Uk schools have been systematically dismantled over the past 20 years. One thing I admire in the American system is the seemingly equal emphasis on mental and physical activity, and with the increasing waitslines of the people in the UK one would think that they should be heading in the opposite direction.

EDIT: Yey congrats on gold status Hoot!

The US has been slowly slacking off on its Physical Education Programs these days as well, especially in high school. Hopefully this trend won't last.

Welcome to the Gold Club!
 
At my high school, we were never allowed to go outside unless it was for gym class. Maybe its different in the UK and other parts of the US, but not in my school district; however, we did have sports fields for school teams. (I played baseball). So they should have something for sports teams.
 
Kurdt said:
EDIT: Yey congrats on gold status Hoot!
G01 said:
Welcome to the Gold Club!
Cheers guys! :biggrin:
 
cyrusabdollahi said:
At my high school, we were never allowed to go outside unless it was for gym class. Maybe its different in the UK and other parts of the US, but not in my school district; however, we did have sports fields for school teams. (I played baseball). So they should have something for sports teams.
I went to a large high school and during the lunch period, we could go outside. The lunchroom/cafeteria was between two wings (buildings) of class rooms.

We also had a mandatory gym class. I played the usual team sports for class, but in my senior year, I preferred long distance running and weight training. Most of the time at lunch though, I'd spend time reading in the library.

Congrats on the gold Hoot. Lookin' good man. :biggrin:
 
  • #10
cyrusabdollahi said:
At my high school, we were never allowed to go outside unless it was for gym class. Maybe its different in the UK and other parts of the US, but not in my school district; however, we did have sports fields for school teams. (I played baseball). So they should have something for sports teams.

That's how my high school was set up as well. Once you were out of elementary school, they didn't think you needed recess anymore, and I tend to agree. We did still have gym class, which depending on the activity and weather would be held outside as often as possible, but that was it. By the time you're in high school, you should be able to sit through the day with just the passing time between classes to stretch, or else you're in a big shock when you graduate and need to know how to sit still for a job all day.

Of course, I don't know what the school day is like in the UK. When I was in high school, we were done for the day at 3 PM, so still plenty of daylight left, even in the winter, to get outside and be active after you got home.

I also agree that they should at least have an outdoor field for team sports or activities for gym class so the students get SOME exercise during the day and learn teamwork, but it doesn't need to be elaborate, and certainly doesn't require fancy park-like settings or anything.
 
  • #11
I used to hide inside the building and read during recess during elementary school. I also got my mom to get me a doctor's note excusing me from PE fom middle school up, I just wasn't into chasing after balls. The only thing I liked was calisthenics.
 
  • #12
cyrusabdollahi said:
At my high school, we were never allowed to go outside unless it was for gym class. Maybe its different in the UK and other parts of the US,

Yea, it seems like it's very different over here. We were actively encouraged to go outside during breaks and lunch times. I guess the teachers believed that fresh air is good for kids-- English high schools age from 11 through 16 (Im not sure what the age range is over in the US). I think another reason for students being encouraged to go outside is that children are less likely to misbehave if they're outside playing football, or sat around on benches, than locked up in a classroom. I also imagine that the average US high school is bigger than the average English high school, and so there are more places for students to go, indoors. In my school, if we weren't allowed outside, then we'd have to either sit in classrooms, in the small, poky library, or in the dinner hall that wasn't big enough to seat everyone at once! The latter may be another reason we were encouraged outside.

Moonbear said:
Of course, I don't know what the school day is like in the UK. When I was in high school, we were done for the day at 3 PM, so still plenty of daylight left, even in the winter, to get outside and be active after you got home.
Sounds pretty much the same as here. We used to start at 9 and finish at about 3.15; although I think at my school the school day's been extended due to complaints that there wasn't enough actual lesson time!
 
  • #13
Moonbear said:
By the time you're in high school, you should be able to sit through the day with just the passing time between classes to stretch, or else you're in a big shock when you graduate and need to know how to sit still for a job all day.
You stay inside all day at your job!? Don't they give you any breaks!?

I think the only job I had where I stayed inside through the whole work day was the year I spent in Alaska. Even then, as long as the temperature was 20 below or higher, I'd have to walk the mile from work to the dorms at least once in a while. In fact, I think staying inside so much (plus the constant darkness) had a lot to do with why the winters could get so depressing.
 
  • #14
Moonbear said:
That's how my high school was set up as well. Once you were out of elementary school, they didn't think you needed recess anymore, and I tend to agree. We did still have gym class, which depending on the activity and weather would be held outside as often as possible, but that was it. By the time you're in high school, you should be able to sit through the day with just the passing time between classes to stretch, or else you're in a big shock when you graduate and need to know how to sit still for a job all day.
I don't know about you but there's noway I could sit in the same place all day, I'd go crazy! In my high school we were forbidden from being inside at lunch unless it was raining. At one point to enforce this rule, the teachers decided to lock all the doors into the school at lunch times, except for one corridor which housed the toilets which the whole school (some 1500+ students) were expected to use.
Astronuc said:
We also had a mandatory gym class. I played the usual team sports for class, but in my senior year, I preferred long distance running and weight training. Most of the time at lunch though, I'd spend time reading in the library.
We had two compulsory sport sessions a week, although in my final year I opted for a GCSE in Phys. Ed. so I got six hours a week of sport.
Astronuc said:
Congrats on the gold Hoot. Lookin' good man. :biggrin:
Cheers Astro, I'm catching up to you with the medals now...:rolleyes:
 
  • #15
I thought the schedule at my high school was awesome. Classes started pretty early, I think around 7, then we had 2 classes, and then a 15 minute break, then 2 more classes and a 20min break, and then the last 2 classes. We had no lunch (one could easily eat during the second break, which many people did), but we got out of school at 1:30 which was awesome! Unfortunately I think they recently changed the schedule to the more traditional 7:30 - 3 (with a real lunch period). PE was required for our freshman year only, though one can easily join the sports teams, or take a class on weightlifting.
 
  • #16
I didn't see if this was asked yet but...

The article stated that there would be no "outside" playground. THere was no implication that the school was deleting all athletics and all play time, was there? Can anyone clarify this point?
 
  • #17
Chi Meson said:
I didn't see if this was asked yet but...

The article stated that there would be no "outside" playground. There was no implication that the school was deleting all athletics and all play time, was there? Can anyone clarify this point?
Good point Chi, I didn't think about that. According to their website (http://www.thomasdeaconacademy.com/page_viewer.asp?section=Sports+in+the+Academy&sid=59) , there are still compulsory PE lessons and a range of sports in which students can participate.
 
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  • #18
Stupid.

And it's not like there's a lack of space in that part of the UK.

Schools should be for much more than just learning.

This whole emphasis/drive towards learning these days really gets my goat.

School should be about enjoying oneself -- not just about learning.

And what's wrong with not being good at something.

Not everyone should go on to higher education.

I really hate the way that for some countries it's all about learning -- they're just mass producing a bunch of robots.

There has to be a certain amount of natural ability which you can't learn from books.

We don't need this kind of learn, learn, learn attitude in the UK!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[/rant]