Many Estonian schools use exception to start before 9 a.m.

Many schools in Estonia have used an exception allowing lessons to begin before 9 a.m. this academic year, ERR reported. Schools say earlier starts help align the school day with bus schedules and the start times of extracurricular activities.

Lessons at general education schools must generally begin at 9 a.m. or later. However, schools may start earlier for serious reasons if they reach an agreement with the school operator.

The Education and Research Ministry has stressed that the preferences of the school community or parents’ daily schedules alone are not sufficient grounds for an exception.

The ministry does not have an overview of how many schools start before 9 a.m. or why they have chosen to use the exception, said Hele Liiv-Tellmann, chief expert at the ministry’s department for general and basic education. Schools are not required to coordinate their daily schedules or start times with the ministry.

In Tartu, the school day begins at 9 a.m. at nearly half of the schools, while the remaining schools start at different times, said Riho Raave, head of the Tartu City Government’s education department.

Annelinn Gymnasium and Kristjan Jaak Peterson Gymnasium have continued to start lessons at 8 a.m. At Mart Reiniku School, classes begin at 8.30 a.m. At Hugo Treffner Gymnasium, lessons begin at 8.15 a.m. from Tuesday to Friday and at 9.20 a.m. on Mondays, preceded by an elective subject. Private schools in Tartu also have starting times of both 9 a.m. and 8.30 a.m.

According to Raave, gymnasiums start the earliest because their school days are longer. Several schools had already moved their start time to 9 a.m. in previous years.

Raave said that starting the school day later while finishing at a normal time requires the entire school schedule to be reorganised. Large schools may find this challenging because regulations set the length of both lessons and breaks.

He said the city government accepts an earlier start if the decision is discussed by the school board and the school makes a reasoned proposal to the school operator.

Tallinn approved all applications

All Tallinn schools that applied were ultimately granted permission to start the school day at a time of their choosing, said Sille Tiitsmaa, communications manager at the Tallinn Education Department. In some cases, the department asked schools to clarify their reasons and discussed the possibility of starting at 9 a.m. next academic year.

“We value schools’ autonomy, and if it is clear that the school community has jointly considered the start of the school day and its overall organisation, we see no reason not to support such a decision,” Tiitsmaa said.

Thirty-six schools in Tallinn applied to start earlier. Their lesson times range from 8 a.m. at Tallinn Secondary School No. 21 and Tallinn Secondary School No. 32 to 8.50 a.m. at Gustav Adolf Grammar School, Lasnamäe Basic School and the first six grades of Tallinn Secondary Science School.

Several schools surveyed students, parents and teachers to determine the preferences of the school community.