In England's schools, homework is not compulsory but is officially encouraged. Government guidelines say children should be doing homework from the day they start in primary school. They recommend that 10 and 11-year-olds do half an hour of homework every day, and older children do between 90 minutes and two-and-a-half hours a night.  

However, research has cast doubt on the effectiveness of homework and some of England's independent schools have abolished the practice. Earlier this year, a teachers' union - the Association of Teachers and Lecturers - called for an end to homework in primary schools and for a scaling back in secondary schools.

Now, Tiffin boys' school, in Kingston, south west London, has decided to radically cut the amount of homework set, limiting it to 40 minutes per night plus 20 minutes of independent learning, which could include pursuits such as playing music or doing sport.

Head teacher Sean Heslop said the school had spent two years looking at teaching and learning in class time, and this had inevitably led staff to look at the subject of homework. He said the boys had been doing up to four hours a night, and the work set was often "mechanistic" and "repetitive". 

"The more we looked at what was being set, the more it came over as quite mechanistic and repetitive. We thought - if there's one way to put students off learning, that's the way to do it." 

Also, because there was so much homework, not all of it was being marked, he said. 

So it was decided that teachers would set just 40 minutes per night plus 20 minutes of independent learning. It was a case of "quality not quantity", Mr Heslop said, with work being set in a more targeted way. 

"The boys absolutely love it," the head teacher said. There had been a positive response from teachers also, he said, with one saying she was pleased she no longer had to set pointless homework - and mark it. 

"We just feel it is a much more honest conversation that we are having with students and parents." 

However, Mr Heslop acknowledged that the response from parents had been mixed. Some said they were glad to have more time with their sons, while others were concerned that less homework might have a negative impact on exam results. (Source: BBC News)