School timetable reform is back in the news. The announcement by \u00c9douard Geffray about a possible shift of the start of lessons to 9am for teenagers has revived a major debate: should school schedules be adapted to students’ sleep needs?<\/p>\n
Between scientific arguments, educational stakes and organisational constraints, this measure raises many questions.<\/p>\n
Very recently, the Minister of National Education reaffirmed his intention to push back the start of lessons for teenagers by an hour, meaning they would start at 9am instead of 8am.<\/p>\n
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This isn’t the first time the Ministry of Education has questioned how school time is organised: class timetables, holiday periods\u2026<\/p>\n
In fact, you may remember that last June, a citizens’ convention led by the CESE (Economic, Social and Environmental Council) launched a new round of discussion on school rhythms. The final report was published at the end of November. It put forward 20 proposals to reform school and out-of-school time, including: starting the day at 9am for middle and high schools.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Have you ever noticed that teenagers fall asleep later? And that they really struggle to wake up early?<\/p>\n Indeed, chronobiologists have shown that melatonin production (the natural hormone that prepares the body for sleep) starts later in teenagers. As a result, they wake up later too.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/strong>During puberty, teenagers’ biological clock shifts: this is known as a natural shift in the circadian rhythm.<\/p>\n Melatonin is secreted around 11pm instead of 9pm, which explains a later onset of sleep, sometimes made worse if the teenager is in front of a screen at bedtime (the blue light from screens blocks the production of the sleep hormone).<\/p>\n We know that, even though a teenager is no longer a child, they still need 8 to 10 hours of sleep to:<\/p>\n Today, we see learners arriving in class still half-asleep.<\/p>\n Lacking sleep, they are clearly not ready to take in new learning, especially since sleep debt builds up as the school year goes on. We also see more irritability, even aggressiveness, and attention difficulties.<\/p>\n In fact, as part of the citizens’ convention, teenagers were asked about this, and some of them warned us about their school schedule: “Our days are too long”<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we can see, if we want middle and high school students to perform better in class, we need to:<\/p>\n Trials have already taken place in some French schools.<\/p>\n For example, in Seine-et-Marne, more precisely in Sourdun. “<\/em>The Sourdun Excellence Boarding School (Seine-et-Marne) trialled shifting the start of lessons from 8am to 9am for students in the equivalent of Year 8 and Year 9 (French “4e” and “5e”), without changing the finishing time. The results show an average gain of 25 minutes of sleep per night for two-thirds of participants, a reduction in anxiety for 64% of them, and better cognitive inhibition for 72%.”<\/em> extract from an article in Le Monde<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You might ask why these changes haven’t been made sooner, given that we know the benefits they could bring for our young learners.<\/p>\n Well, this proposal is far from unanimous.<\/p>\n Indeed, such a reform would require:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Conclusion: <\/strong><\/p>\n School timetable reform is based on solid scientific evidence and trials, particularly regarding teenagers’ sleep.<\/p>\n However, putting it into practice remains a major challenge. Without an overall adaptation of the education system and family organisation, there is a risk of creating new constraints.<\/p>\n The debate on school schedules is therefore far from over.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Further resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n St\u00e9phanie Mazza, neuropsychology researcher: “We’ve been imposing an adult sleep rhythm on teenagers for far too long<\/a><\/em>” article in Le Monde, 20 May 2025<\/p>\n Citizens’ convention: 20 children aged 12 to 17 put forward their proposals to rethink how their time is organised<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n “A system designed for another century”: why school timetables are outdated<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n
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