Should our school ‘hols’ be in February?

The classic Kiwi summer is a national rite of passage, but following a cooler than normal break some Wellingtonians are calling for school holidays to be in the warmer month of February.

Data compiled by Niwa confirms February comes out as the best of the summer months, in terms of mean temperature, lowest rainfall and fewest rain days for the whole country.

Among those dissatisfied with the conditions over the festive season is United Future Leader Peter Dunne, who says ’’the weather over the last few weeks proves my point’’.

Moving the school holidays to the warmest month should be investigated, he said.

‘‘People now have much more flexible work patterns, and we don’t have the same situation when everyone takes their holiday in January.

‘‘If we were to extend the December term by a week, and then have a short break over Christmas and New Year, it could mean a holiday in the warmer month of February.

‘‘It could be better for tourism, and better on the roads if we split the breaks.’’

Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts said moving the summer holidays would create both benefits and challenges for the tourism industry.

‘‘On the positive side, more settled, warmer weather would encourage Kiwis to get out and enjoy all the great activities New Zealand has to offer.

‘‘However, moving the school holidays to February would exacerbate the challenges of seasonal demand.’’

Ministry of Education spokesman David Wales said the current approach gained wide support following consultation with sector groups in 2006.

‘‘We would be open to discussing holiday dates to February or March if all schools and parents of school children wanted this to be looked at and if businesses that parents work in wanted their staff to take their annual leave at this time.

‘‘We have had no indication there is support for such a move.’’