"The summers seemed to last forever"

Apparently the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested that the traditional long summer holiday be cut, since apparently "pupils' reading and maths abilities regressed because the summer break was too long."

Um.... whats wrong with getting the little sods to read over the summer??

Am I missing something here? When i was in school, 6 weeks off was a joy, it enabled me to devour countless books. Every trip to the library i'd load up with 7 or 8 thick hardbacks, then spend hours of the day just reading, the more liberal 'bed time' over the holidays meant i'd stay up till gone 11pm (!) trying to finish 'just one more chapter'.

Now call me an intellectual snob (I see it as a compliment), but i believe that anyone who chooses not to read for pleasure, or believes that reading is 'boring' deserves to be thick.