The union mantra on proposed changes to the school year: “Is the gain worth the pain?” is answered by a resounding “Yes!” from the schools already following non-traditional calendars.

“It has definitely worked for us, but as part of a whole package to improve attainment,” said Robert Beal, head of Woodlands primary school in Grimsby, which has a five-term year. “We have an exceptional environment within the school and a very good staff dedicated to raising standards of teaching and learning.”

Literacy and key stage 1 and 2 national test results have all significantly improved since Woodlands changed its holiday patterns two years ago. Summer “learning loss” has reduced and the local community, on the largest housing estate in Grimsby, has seen vandalismdrop, particularly in the summer, when pupils now have a four instead of a six-week break.

None of the holidays is shorter than two weeks and Mr Beal believes this is important. If children come back to school refreshed, they are bound to perform better, he says. Teachers also find the curriculum easier to plan within five eight-week terms.

The experience at Woodlands is largely borne out by studies in the US. A recent study, involving 370,000 pupils in North Carolina, discovered no statistical difference between the academic scores of children following traditional and modern calendars. But other researchers have found that a shorter summer break is particularly beneficial for disadvantaged pupils and those with special needs.

Some US schools have also introduced “multi-tracking” or staggered schooling within the same building, leading to more economical use of equipment and improved results. But direct comparisons with the US are difficult as their summer holiday is usually at least four weeks longer than in the UK.

In the UK, research into year-round schooling has been limited, although eight of the 15 city technology colleges operate a non-traditional school year. One small study into the five-term year at four CTCs found that it had helped teachers and children to plan their work effectively. Other pluses were less illness and no “end-of-term” ethos, where staff and pupils coast tiredly towards the holidays.

Djanogly CTC in Nottingham has been running a five-term year since it opened in 1989. According to the vice-principal, Nigel Akers, one of the main advantages is that eight-week terms are perfect for teaching modular courses. An unexpected bonus is that teachers, parents and pupils can go ski-ing in March at a fraction of the February half-term cost.

The main opposition to change comes from teaching unions, who argue that a six-week summer break is one of the last “perks” left to teachers. They also claim that there is no clear evidence to suggest the benefits would outweigh the stress of yet another innovation.

The travel industry is also seen as hostile. It will no longer be able to charge the traditional holiday premium, according to David Triggs, a head who gave evidence to the Local Government Association’s commission on the school year.

Mr Triggs’s school, Greensward College in Essex, has been operating a five-term year successfully for two years. He thinks the six-term system proposed by the LGA is not radical enough: it allows only one-week breaks at February and Whitsun half-terms, not long enough for pupils and staff to recuperate. Term lengths are uneven, ranging between 38 and 28 days, and often too short for a modular curriculum.

But a new pattern of schooling is no panacea, Mr Triggs believes. It is just one measure that will help to drag teachers’ working practices into the 21st century. “There’s now a car which e-mails the garage when something goes wrong, while teachers are still covered in chalk-dust and working ridiculously long hours,” he says.

But Mr Triggs also warns that effective consultation of the whole school community is crucial if a revised schooling pattern is to succeed. Similarly, the American experience is that change is technically simple but socially complex.

“The Rhythms of Schooling - detailed recommendations for school terms and holidays in 2003-04. Draft recommendations for school terms and holidays in 2004-05 and 2005-06.” Independent Commission on the Organisation of the School Year. Available from the LGA website www.lga.gov.uk

“Changing the Pattern of the School Year,” by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, available from www.askatl.com.uk

“Year-Round Learning - a research synthesis relating to student achievement” by Dr Carolyn C. Kneese, published by the National Association of Year-Round Education, San Diego. www.nayre.org

TAKE FIVE?

Typical pattern of a five-term year:

* No holiday of less than two weeks.

* All terms are seven or eight weeks long.

* The main summer holiday is four or five weeks long, depending on INSET arrangements.

* The two-week spring holiday falls at the beginning of March; there are only two days off at Easter.

* There is a two-week Whitsun holiday during the last fortnight in May.

THE INQUIRY

The commission on the school year recommended:

* Six terms, with two terms before Christmas and no term of more than 38 days.

* A two-week October break.

* A Christmas break of no less than two weeks.

* Four terms after Christmas, of upto six weeks.

* A summer break of more than five weeks.

* Five “flexible days” that can be used for holidays or term days, according to regional needs.

* The regional staggering of term dates, as in some European countries.

The model is not that different from a traditional school year. Main changes are: a two-week October holiday; repositioning the main spring holiday to the beginning of April, regardless of when Easter falls, and an earlier, slightly shorter summer holiday, usually beginning in mid-July.