Class 12 son wants to go to school only twice a week and spend the rest at coaching

cedar_balcony_383417 Jul 2026

Six weeks into class 12 and our son has a plan. Several boys from his coaching batch attend their own schools only a couple of days a week, and he wants to do the same: school on Mondays and Thursdays, coaching centre the rest of the time. His argument is that the school days are 'wasted' on chapters he's already done at coaching. His school hasn't said yes or no. I haven't asked them yet because I'm not sure what I'm asking for. My partner thinks we should let him try it for a month. I keep thinking about the attendance requirement for boards, and about the fact that school is the only place he still sees friends who aren't preparing for the same exam. I can't tell which part of this I'm overthinking.

5 comments

moss_pool_825417 Jul 2026
Before anything else I'd ask the school in writing how they count attendance for class 12 and what happens if he falls short. Better to hear it from them than from the other boys. Some schools are relaxed until January and then suddenly aren't.
amber_marigold_606817 Jul 2026
the 'wasted' periods in class 12 tend to be english and the practical files. both come back in february. i'd want to know who is doing his practicals if he isn't there.
teal_trail_709118 Jul 2026
I teach in an IB school, so not the same system, but I've had senior students try a split like this. The ones who managed had a very settled routine and parents who checked the coaching side as closely as the school side. The ones who struggled lost touch with the class in ways that showed up later, in group work, in references, even in who they sat with on exam days. A month's trial is reasonable only if you all agree in advance what 'it's not working' looks like.
umber_river_332519 Jul 2026
Does the coaching centre take any responsibility for him on the days he's there instead of school? A register, a call if he doesn't turn up? That would make a big difference for me.
cobalt_paper_128920 Jul 2026
From the staffroom side: students who are 'mostly at coaching' are the hardest for us to write anything meaningful about when a college asks for a recommendation. Nobody holds it against them, we just don't know them. If he goes ahead, I'd make sure at least one teacher still sees him regularly in something he cares about, a lab, a club, anything.
- cedar_balcony_383422 Jul 2026
  This is the part nobody in his batch had mentioned. He likes chemistry and gets on with that teacher, so we've told him two days isn't happening. We're now talking about three, with every lab period included. The school still hasn't replied to my email.