A CITY school is to cut the six-week summer holidays and introduce Saturday teaching.
The Boulevard Academy, being built on the former Hull FC site, is turning its back on years of tradition.
Pupils at the £10m school will have a four-week break in the summer and be required to attend one Saturday every month.
School days are also set to be longer, with pupils starting at 8.30am and finishing at 4pm.
Principal Andy Grace said it will mean his pupils will get up to 110 extra teaching hours each year.
"Six weeks is too long," he said.
"We are playing literacy and numeracy catch-up here and, the more hours we have with the children, the better.
"This way, we gain two weeks of learning.
"We will simply run for two weeks longer than other schools."
The six-week holidays were originally introduced to enable children from rural families help with harvesting and they have remained a feature of the school calendar.
Mr Grace said the extra two weeks of school will please parents, many of whom struggle with childcare for the six-week break.
But he recognises he will need to engage pupils to keep them focused when their peers may be off school.
He said: "These two weeks have to be lively and they have to be interesting if we are asking kids to work two weeks extra in the summer."
He said he also believes having children in on a Saturday will mean teachers can focus on core subjects such as maths and English during the week.
"If we can get extra time on Saturday, we can do all our PE then," he said.
"In a year, it would mean 22 extra hours on a Saturday, and with the extra two weeks in the summer, we could get 110 hours extra teaching.
"The children wouldn't have to come in every Saturday, but there will be children in the academy every Saturday."
Mr Grace said this will also allow for smaller group interaction, whereby staff can work with pupils who need to catch-up with work, or those who need to be challenged more.
Mr Grace said longer days will have an affect on the literacy and numeracy catch-up.
"We want them to achieve their potential," he said.
"Having a longer day means pupils will be with their teachers longer, so we can really make sure we get the quality."
The Boulevard Academy, in west Hull, opens in September for year seven pupils.
It will be a 600-place "free school", meaning it is run independently of the local authority, which will be grown year group each year. Youngsters will be taught in classes of no more than 20 pupils.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said he believes school days should be lengthened and summer holidays shortened.
He said this is the case in successful East Asian systems.
Mr Gove said: "It is already the case that some of the best schools in the country recognise the need to change the structure of the school term."
Changes brought in by the Government in 2011 do allow local authority schools to extend their school day. However, schools are expected to consult before they implement any changes.
In 2011, East Riding Council looked at plans to cut the six-week break, but abandoned them shortly after.
