I'm a Year 11 student at Hutt Valley High School and recently the school has decided to get rid of late starts and a lot of people are disappointed.

Late Starts are vital to us as students wellbeing as we need them to get that extra sleep in or finish that assessment that's due today. Currently, juniors get 1 late start per week on a Wednesday (9:50), Year 11's two late starts including one NCEA callback spell, In year 12 there is more study spells in the morning.

Late starts allow students to refresh for the long and sometimes difficult school day. This is mainly for the senior school as we have internals and a bigger workload. Getting rid of late starts means students will be sleep deprived or even fail their assessments. This will cause attendance rates to drop as we need our sleep. I'm hoping this will help bring back our late starts as all you have to do is sign your name. The change is set to take place at the start of next year.

Regards

Aidan Cross