I think that it is a real shame that children are to be caged up in school in case they misbehave. Whatever happened to keeping them busy and challenged with organised sports. In my experienec I have found that boys particularly need to be active and encouraged to compete. You never know we may even be able to field a decent cricket team if children learned how to play as Australian children do.

Sue, Halstead, Essex

Do me a lemon...
I'm in my final year at school (a fairly average one may i add) and part of growing up for me has been to be able to meet new people, find out who my friends are and enjoy myself while getting a very good education! Not being stuck with the same students every single day without escape!

By taking away that socializing and 'chilling out' time, you're already reducing the chances for children to explore relationships.... and canteen food... How on earth are they going to cope in the big bad world!?
And in reply to Mr. John Thomas' comment...
I have two part time jobs, am head girl of my school and am part of lots of different young people organizations... society hasn't changed that much! There are just more health and safety laws stopping us from working down mines at 5am!
This article did make me laugh- it basically says what everyone was thinking! Brilliant!

Ali, Colchester,

This is the ongoing development of an educational system that has ceased to educate children correctly and is only concerned with preparing them for examinations and employment.

James Stuart, Chorley, U.K.

Why is it we of the supposedly advanced, successful cultures have so little trust or faith in our children? Do we really believe that, given some time to themselves, they will enact endless 'Lord of the Flies' moments? I think it's because we adults really feel we have so little control over our own lives, we seek solace in controlling and perfecting the more vulnerable. Let them be. Life is hard. No amount of imposed organization will change that.

Dante, Portland, USA/Oregon

utter pish! when I was a lad I used to work a shift down the mines and then went to school and slogged at me books for five hours straight. I used the lunchbreak, such as it was, to get my homework done. When i got home, I went straight out again to do a paper round. by the time I got home in the evening, I was so knackered I could hardly eat tea. kids have too much time on their hands these days, that's why they're all so fat and thick.

John thomas, Glasgow,

Many important lessons you will learn will be learned outside the classroom. So I was told as a junior at school. I found it to be true. But then they were unfashionable things by today's standards, things like leadership, courage in adversity, sportsmanship, curiosity, practical things like animal husbandry, building radios, photography, carpentry and workshop skills, living outdoors, swimming, shooting (how non-PC we were) and drama to list a few. The most important skill learned in class was the ability to concentrate and the discipline to study.
Regrettably I wasted a lot of time with latin, divinity and the dates of the kings of England. Oh, and the French teacher did a good line in antisubmarine warfare which came in handy when got involved in diving.
Most of us learned how to deal with bullying, you only have to learn it once and it lasts a lifetime.
Somehow we learned how to respect our teachers and they respected us pupils. If only schools could this now.

E M Sedgwick, Eastleigh, Hampshire

No playtime for kids? Is that going to help our obesity problem??

Simone, Manchester,

Will someone join me in starting a Campaign for the Return of Common Sense? We can call it 'CRoCS' (we need a 'buzzy' acronymn) and appoint ourselves, without any public remit, as the guardians of this precious and rare commodity.
Let's begin by campaigning for the repeal of all Health & Safety legislation, followed by the removal from politics of anybody who wants to be a politician. Next ban police speeches from the steps of our law courts. Then replace the zealots of the education system with children, who generally speaking have a better grip on reality. It's a start.

Bob Reeve, Brighton,

If having a school with 2,200 pupils means that the pupils cannot be kept safe whilst enjoying learning to socialise the answer is simple. DON'T have schools that large! There are indications from educational theorists that larger is not better for the pupils. I'm not even sure that larger is better if you are treating anything as a business. How many businesses grow to a certain size then have to be split into smaller more manageable companies to survive!

Rick, Lincoln,

As usual the management wants stimulating lessons but not stimulated students. They continue to believe that you can have the former without the latter.

Students will let off steam anyway - in the classroom - because it's their nature, not because they're all potential terrorists/criminals (substitute your greatest fear).

Rob Riches, Croydon, UK

It is not us who are defeatist. It is the government, their appointees, and those like McMurdo who just look a the way things are going and try to work accordingly. The government is understadably sick of taking the blame for everything that goes wrong when if they just let us get on with running things for ourselves we would do it far better and the government would be off the hook.

R Mason, London, UK

As usual the management wants stimulating lessons but not stimulated students. They continue to believe that you can have the former without the latter.

Students will let off steam anyway - in the classroom - because it's their nature, not because they're all potential terrorists/criminals (substitute your greatest fear).

Rob Riches, Croydon, UK

The whole presentation is so stupid that I suspect it's been cooked up to cover a colossal design mistake of some sort.

Raspberry Rabbit, Scotland, UK

A precise observation!
It`s time for asking the question that has been evaded for decades: HOW DO WE CREATE BETTER TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS?

To defy your defaitism: IT IS POSSIBLE (to make them think different). But the reportoir of resistance is immense!

Stubbs, Tynset, Norway

This sounds to me like penny pinching being justified on educational grounds.....so typical of the last few governments.
The real lesson here is that government cares not a fig for the needs of the"average" child.....all this twaddle about standards, SATS, continuous assessment,national curriculum...all reinforce my belief that children are regarded in much the same way as jars in a bottling plant.....all needing the same thing, and all at the same time, and in the same amount...and now this......which will be certain to "succeed" and get a good press.........then most probably leading to the sale of school playgrounds ....having , of course, already sold the playing fields.

Ron Wilcox, Pai , Thailand

hear hear

Ben, uk,

This is spot on and marvellous.

TAnd it's all that needs to be said.

Richard Roe, Canterbury,

Excellent article!

Chris Reynolds, Buderim, Australia

Most of my memories of school are those of break time. We talked ,flirted and made friends from other classes while sitting on the grass under the trees and had some 'mean' snowball fights in the winter. The small, parked playground with a few wooden benches and tables created a suitable environment. As long as an average school playground in the UK is nothing more than a square tarmac surrounded by high wire fence, there will be poblems with discipline. An opressing, cagelike environment brings out the 'locked up animal' in the best of students. Eliminating playgrounds is not the answer to control problems, changing them to suit their purpose would be.

Victoria Nagy, London, UK

If the little darlings are to be treated just like company employees, presumably they'll be able to skip out for ciggy breaks then?

Drew, London,