The other main reason is that the kids were “streamed” so that the brighter students were in classes together, and the kids who needed more help were in classes together and everyone moved at the same pace. This meant that the kids were all moving at their pace and they weren’t struggling so much through homework that they didn’t understand.

The students lived in houses ranging from form 1 through to form 7 and the older students helped with homework for the younger ones, and tutors were assigned if there was a student who was struggling too much. Some of the students were also able to sit exams earlier than their year mates if they were more advanced – my brother sat for his School Certificate accounting (first main exam in form five) when he was in form four.

Long story short, smaller classes and a better type of education meant that they needed less time to get through their homework.