Could later school start times help?

Sleeping in late is seen as a rite of passage for teenagers.

And now a new trial will examine whether deviating from traditional early start times in schools could help benefit a teenager’s school work and well-being.

Experts from the universities of Birmingham, Oxford and Aberdeen are recruiting schools to take part in the study.

The trial will look at teenagers’ sleep patterns and test whether a later school start time could benefit them.

Professor Paul Montgomery, lead researcher from the University of Birmingham, said: “We want people to be aware that sleep deprivation in adolescents is a real problem which affects their functioning, well-being and even academic performance.

“We want to work with schools, parents, pupils, teachers, head teachers, support staff, local education authorities and civil servants to run a number of studies to find out what the ideal starting time is, and how schools can manage this.”

The study will focus on students from years 10 and 11 and researchers are recruiting secondary schools across the UK.