IT IS hard to believe that any school would take the action of cancelling festive activities due to a need to study more at this time of the year.
So is there something more to the story on page one today?
However, it certainly raises the wider debate about whether, in general, children learn through play and education should be more fun. And at what age should it get really serious? For example, in some other European countries children do not start full-time schooling until they are much older than those in Britain. This would suggest that education chiefs in those countries believe that children will benefit more from being within a family environment for longer.
There has also been much criticism about the controversial SATs testing in our primary school, with some parents and teachers saying it puts too much pressure on students at too young an age.
On the other hand, children must be made to realise that life is not easy and to succeed in an increasingly competitive world, study, passing exams and concentration can be the key.
The trouble is there is no set rule as to the age at which that should begin. Push too early with some youngsters and you may well send them backwards, whereas some may benefit from a nudge or two in the right direction at a relatively early age.
What do you think, let us know by commenting on this story at www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk