Rethinking School – Issues with the Curriculum. The volume of Homework.

Week 6 of our Rethinking School Series

Last week, we explored the role of education and how mainstream schooling often prioritises national targets and rigid career paths over individual growth. How it s not necessarily meeting the expectation of a "successful life" and leading to a rethinking of school. We also discussed how homeschooling can redefine education’s purpose by focusing on personal development and learning that genuinely fits each child.

This week, we turn to another challenge many families face in mainstream education: the sheer volume of homework. How much work is truly necessary, and how much is simply overwhelming for young learners? We will also consider the complex issue of how much homework is sufficient to be beneficial.

One of the reasons cited for assigning homework is that students typically retain only 50% or less of the information they acquire through lessons, readings, and visual presentations. Engaging with course content through additional assignments enhances this retention.

Proponents of homework for younger students argue it helps teachers assess understanding, builds problem-solving skills, and reinforces classroom learning. It also gives parents insight into their child’s progress—assuming, of course, they’re available to help. In reality, many parents are still working when homework is done, and the rise of after-school homework clubs makes this benefit far less relevant.

Supporters of homework for older students argue it builds critical study skills, encourages independent research, and fosters responsibility. Research shows a clear link between consistent homework and higher achievement: students assigned regular homework perform better than those with occasional assignments, and those spending 90–110 minutes daily tend to earn the highest grades. We’ll revisit this point later in this blog.

Early in my teaching career, I met a professional couple who openly opposed the school’s homework policy. They allowed their daughter to complete assignments only if she wished, choosing instead to prioritise time with grandparents, friends, sports, and outings. While they read to her at bedtime, they didn’t require her to read to them or spend evenings on worksheets. Around the same time, our school introduced a homework reward campaign—stickers, certificates, and displays of outstanding work—to boost completion rates. But the couple’s stance quickly influenced others, with parents voicing concerns about the pressure to assist or even complete homework for their children. Participation dropped, and the headteacher, together with the parent council, agreed to revert to the old policy. In the end, the girl at the centre of it all went on to Oxford University with minimal homework—a rare exception to the rule.

A 2014 Department for Education report found that Year 9 students doing two to three hours of homework daily were far more likely to achieve five good GCSEs than those who did none, exceeding the 90–110-minute benchmark noted earlier. Yet today, students are typically expected to complete nine, ten, or even eleven GCSEs, sometimes more. To manage the load, subjects like Religious Education are often taken early, but the workload can still demand four (240 minutes) to six hours (360 minutes) of homework each day, on top of a six-hour school day. That’s nine to twelve hours of mental effort daily, or 45–60 hours a week.

By comparison, most UK adults work 37–40 hours a week, with laws capping the average at 48. In effect, we are asking 13- and 14-year-olds to sustain a workload that exceeds that of the average adult.

Some professions, like teaching, demand far more than the standard 40-hour week. Gov.UK data shows full-time teachers and school leaders average 50–59 hours weekly, a key factor in high attrition rates. Burnout leads to fatigue, emotional exhaustion, absenteeism, and, according to the National Library of Medicine (USA), poses serious risks to a teachers mental health.

If students are working comparable hours—often due to excessive homework—the impact can be just as damaging. Many homeschooled learners come to us exhausted, unable to function academically. Some face strict homework deadlines with detentions for late work, forcing them to study past midnight. One student averaged less than five hours of sleep a night while catching the 7:15 a.m. bus to school.

Some schools now outsource homework to online platforms that auto-mark assignments. Orchard Training uses similar tools to save parents time and money, but in some local schools, timed maths tasks leave dyslexic students unable to finish. Missing the required 100% score triggers weekly detentions—something parents have protested for four years without change.

No professional adult would accept an employer setting them up to fail every week, yet this is exactly what’s happening to these students. Is it any wonder families are leaving—not just these schools, but the system entirely?

If education traps children in a cycle of failure and punishment, how can it claim to prepare them for a successful life? A truly successful life balances physical health, mental well-being, work, rest, play, and personal growth. That requires thoughtful time management—something the current system is failing to provide.

How do Orchard Training’s homeschool children do homework differently?

A typical school week is around 25 hours in the school building and not including homework, but once you subtract registration, lunch, moving between classes, settling in, breaks, and assemblies, only about 20 hours are left for actual learning. This is a far more realistic amount of time for children to absorb new information without mental fatigue.

At Orchard Training, we structure this core 20 hours across five days—about four hours of focused learning each day—plus an hour of physical activity. The remaining time can be tailored to a child’s interests, whether that’s advancing in a sport, developing a hobby, or building skills for a future career.

As students grow older, their study time increases, but it never exceeds 40 hours a week. Children should never be expected to work harder than adults.

This week, we examined another reason many families are rethinking school and turning to homeschooling: the relentless workload. Long school hours combined with excessive homework are out of step with what we know supports mental well-being and a healthy work–life balance. Instead of fostering meaningful learning, they often lead to stress, fatigue, and poor retention.

Homeschooling offers a different approach—shorter, more focused study sessions that boost concentration, protect well-being, and encourage genuine understanding.

Next week, we’ll look at another factor driving the move away from mainstream education: how the daily experience of attending school itself shapes families’ decisions.