Posted by Alan Hakim on November 18, 1998 at 23:01:16:
In Reply to: Re: School Holidays posted by David R on November 17, 1998 at 22:28:28:
Until comparitively recently, the summer holidays in schools revolved round exams which were held much later than now. For most schools in England, the Summer holidays began towards the end of July, immediately after the major exams finished. State schools had about 5-6 weeks, I think, while Public schools (Private Schools, in American usage) had 8 weeks. Therefore the end of the holidays was usually in the 3rd week of September - about the time thunderstorms start to become common.
Prep schools, which were what the Walkers would have attended, were private Preparatory schools for the Public schools, and kept much the same dates.
None of this needed explaining in the 30s, but now that the major exams are in May-June, everything to do with the school summer holidays is much earlier.