The Sunday Times - UK (2022-05-01)

2 May 1, 2022The Sunday Times

Travel

T

LETTER OF THE WEEK

My husband and I spent our

honeymoon in the Cape Verde Islands,

and ended up staying there for almost a

year (“Islands of plenty”, last week). We

settled on Santo Antao, and our small

idyllic abode in Porto Novo lay on an

ancient cobbled street, our garden an

oasis of banana and fig trees. Weekends

were spent hiking in the steep, lush

valleys, marvelling at the spectacular

landscape, coupled with the frothing

white sea. I cannot wait to return.

Glynys Williams, Merthyr Tydfil

In 2019 my wife and I chose a package

that included visiting six of the Cape Verde

islands on a cruise. For us, too, Mindelo

and Santo Antao were the highlights, but

having lunch at a restaurant near the

volcano on Fogo — with underfloor

heating courtesy of the lava — is a definite

must-do. Boa Vista (dune-bashing and

pristine beaches where turtles breed) and

Santiago are also well worth visiting.

Nick Mallard, Cornwall

STAG DO

Closer to home is the issue of deer

stalking in the Highlands (“Is it time to kill

off trophy hunting?”, last week). Almost

everyone agrees that we need to control

the number of deer, because they have no

predators and prevent the natural forests

from regenerating. This leaves us with

two choices: employ stalkers — paid from

scarce charity funds or the public purse —

to shoot them or contract the work to

hunters who are willing to pay for the

“privilege”. This brings income into

estates, while the venison can be sold to

local butchers and restaurants, further

enhancing the local economy.

Neil Kitching, Dunblane

FRUITS OF YOUR LABOUR

I studied the poetry of Robert Graves

for my English A-level in the Sixties; years

later while holidaying on Mallorca I

visited his old home in Deia — which has

been left as it was when he lived there

(“Seize the Deia”, last week). I told his

youngest son that his father had helped

me to secure an A grade, and he gave me

a huge bag of oranges from the orchard.

Sue Roffe, Denbighshire

Marina Fogle’s adventures among the

vultures of Deia reminded me of an

experience my wife and I had a few years

ago. We were in the stunning Monfrague

natural park (since upgraded to a national

park) in Extremadura when we rounded

a clump of bushes on a winding trail to be

confronted by the sight of hundreds of

griffon vultures riding the thermals.

“Quick!” I said. “Lie down and play dead,

and maybe the vultures will come down

to feed on you. I should be able to get

Travel

The best of this

week’s emails, posts

and comments

YOUR

VIEWS

BIG

SHOT

Cape Verde

crusaders

FULL PLUME

Congratulations

to Rebecca

McLennan, whose

shot of a vocal

resident of the

House of the Binns

in West Lothian is

this week’s winner

of our Big Shot

competition, in

association with

the adventure

cruise specialist

Hurtigruten

Expeditions

(020 3553 9842,

hurtigruten.co.uk).

She receives a

£250 John Lewis

voucher and

makes the shortlist

for the main prizes,

which include a

northern lights

expedition cruise.

Upload shots at

thesundaytimes.

co.uk/thebigshot

or enter on

Instagram: tag us

@TimesTravel and

use #STBigShot

Terms & conditions This

week’s competition closes

at 11.59pm on Wednesday.

UK & ROI residents aged

18+ only. Full T&Cs apply:

see thesundaytimes.co.uk/

travelphotocomp

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F

or many families with school-

age children, the return of

term-time structure after

months of home schooling

couldn’t come soon enough.

But the old rigidity has come at a cost

— and one that can run into thousands

of pounds.

Hyperinflation of travel prices during

school holidays is nothing new. But it has

become even more galling, given the

appetite to get away after so many missed

opportunities over the two years of the

pandemic — and the proven ability of

pupils to learn away from the classroom.

The sanctity of term time has been

eroded and families are finding the

temptation to pull their kids out of class

harder to resist — particularly as the

cost-of-living crisis starts to bite.

“Holiday-request forms have piled up

on my desk in the past few weeks,” said

Emma, a head teacher at a primary school

in southwest England. “Many families are

stating the need for some time together,

missed opportunities over the past two

years and wanting to reunite with family

and friends who live far away. For an

increasing number of families the

financial cost of going away in school

holidays is unmanageable, and so their

only option is to go in term time.”

The financial incentive can certainly be

considerable. A seven-night trip to Costa

Rica including flights for a family of four

staying at the all-inclusive Hotel Riu

Palace is just under £6,000 with Tui from

August 24 — or £3,900 if the children

return to school three days after the start

of term. Staycations aren’t immune. Visit

Center Parcs in Cumbria for a week from

July 25 and a lodge for four costs a tad

under £2,400 — a month earlier it’s £700

cheaper. Penalty fines for unauthorised

absences — £60 per responsible adult if

paid within 21 days, or £120 within 28

days — are small fry by comparison.

Schools have some discretion to permit

term-time holidays, though often the

circumstances have to be “exceptional”.

Last November Naomi Abraham —

a mother with three children, then six,

nine and ten years old — had permission

for them to miss three weeks of term at

their state primary to visit Sri Lanka for

their uncle’s wedding. The family is

hoping to move back to their ancestral

home and wanted to extend the trip to

give the London-born children an idea

of what their new life would be like.

“I’m glad schools are allowed to use

their discretion,” Abraham said. “I don’t

agree with just taking kids out of school

for a holiday, but in a multicultural city

you have to accept that people have

families all over the world and being

there for big occasions is important.”

What constitutes exceptional

circumstances is subjective of course

SUSIE

MESURE

— with interpretation seemingly

influenced by the volume of requests,

according to some. One Hampshire dad’s

six-year-old son hadn’t seen his Australian

grandmother for four years, partly as a

result of Covid, but the family’s request

for an extra week of holiday over Easter to

make this reunion possible was knocked

back. “I have no doubt it was due to the

sheer number of — to be blunt — less-

deserving requests,” the father said.

Teachers and heads find themselves

conflicted. Tim Lello, headmaster at

Babington House, an independent school

in Kent, is against term-time absences.

“It’s not just about the missed lessons for

the child who isn’t there, it also disrupts

lessons for those who haven’t left early,”

he said. “I insist parents have to contact

me directly to request extra time off.

Some do... but it’s unusual.”

Other teachers express exasperation

at being asked by parents to set extra

work for absentees, adding to their

considerable workload.

The numbers of penalty notices

(introduced in 2013) issued by councils

vary widely. The latest Department for

Education figures show that Luton issued

the most, with 3.3 for every 100 pupils,

or a total of 1,174, in the 2020-21 academic

year. Bolton, Doncaster and Blackburn

with Darwen had the next highest rates.

Fifteen councils issued ten or fewer.

Last year Plymouth council overhauled

its policy on school absences, giving

families the right to take five days off

during term time in the subsequent

12-month period. Luton council said that

issuing fines was part of its aim to break

the link between school absenteeism and

challenging social issues.

Some teachers would prefer more

control. “I feel trapped,” said Emma, the

primary school head. “The regulations

put head teachers in a very difficult

situation where we are asked to turn down

almost all absences and also to put into

motion fines to be issued to families who

take a certain amount of time off school.

This has never felt appropriate for me.

“While attendance is important, I

cannot say that a week in school can ever

be as valuable for a child as the experience

they would get being immersed in a whole

different culture for a week.”

A couple in southeast London with

daughters aged 10 and 13 wanted to take a

three-week holiday in Mexico over Easter

that meant the girls would miss five days

of term. “Both schools said, ‘It’s not

authorised, but enjoy yourselves,’ ” said

the father, a primary school governor,

adding that families were owed some

leniency after a tough two years. “We all

did our bit during lockdown with home

learning. There’s not been much thanks.”

THE GREAT

TERM-TIME

HOLIDAY

STAMPEDE

Request forms have

piled up on headteachers’

desks in recent weeks