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Opinion Piece: More than land on a map

June 25, 2026

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Article written by Milli Banbury

This article was written using AI as an assistive tool for research, writing, and proofreading.
The te reo Māori version of this article was translated with AI assistance. While care has been taken to keep it accurate, if you spot anything that doesn't read quite right, please let us know

Learning Options

Recall Questions

Thinking questions

Digital Thinking

Learning Options

Recall Questions

Thinking questions

Digital Thinking

Our school should start later.

Every morning, many Year 8 students arrive tired, distracted, and unready to learn. Some have caught the early bus, helped with younger siblings, or stayed up completing homework. A later start would not solve every problem, but it could improve concentration during the first lessons. In fact, several schools in New Zealand have changed their start times and reported that students were more settled in class. If the goal of school is learning, then giving students a slightly later start makes sense.

Of course, a change would need planning. Bus timetables, sport practices, and before-school clubs would all need to be considered.

What is the author mainly trying to do in this column?

To give a neutral summary of school start times To provide instructions for catching the bus To persuade readers that school should start later To explain how timetables are made