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        The Academy of Medicine has brought up again the debate on the reform put in place at the start of school in 2008 by publishing a report supporting Saturday school, judging it essential for the biological rhythm of children.

 

        The findings are final: for the Academy of Medicine, the current school schedule in France is "not synced with children's biological rhythms". And this is true "for all  levels of organization, day, week, and year". In particular is the case of the four-day week in elementary schools. France is the ONLY European country to have adopted this schedule, when school started in 2008, despite numerous protests from chronobiologists.

 

        The academy therefore created a work group, which consulted many "school actors" as well as specialized researchers into the biological rhythms of children. The result was that with the four-day week, "work ethic and performance" of the students were low Monday and Tuesday, because of the cutoff of the weekend. The student is "desynchronized for the first two days of the week", so explained the report. In other words, their biological rhythm is not respected, so they stay stuck in their weekend schedule, drastically lowering attention. The report therefore proposed a week of at least four and a half days, with class saturday morning, or even for five days.

 

        Another consequance of the four-day week: the school day is too busy. A