Can't Tell the Time? UK Schools Ditch Analogue Clocks as Gen Z Struggles to Read Them

Time may be up for analogue clocks as more and more students are unable to read them, resulting in many UK schools replacing them with digital clocks.

The change comes due to GCSE and A-Level students' complaints of being unable to read the clocks while in an exam room, adding to their already high-stress levels.

Education providers have suggested the reason behind this is likely caused by the students' accessibility and reliance on smartphones and other electronic devices.

Despite the fact that learning to read analogue is a UK curriculum requirement in key stage one, teachers claim that students quickly unlearn the skill due to a lack of practice and need.

'They are used to seeing a digital representation of time on their phone, on their computer,' said deputy general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), Malcolm Trobe.

'Nearly everything they've got is digital so youngsters are just exposed to time being given digitally everywhere,' he told The Telegraph.

The shift has sparked debate among parents, educators, and technologists, raising a wider question: Is reading a clock face still an essential life skill?

Parents Are Concerned Their Kids Can't Do This Basic Skill

Although children in the UK are taught to read analogue clocks around ages five to seven, parents have noticed it's a skill that hasn't stuck.

One parent was surprised when she took her son to a nine-year-old's birthday party and the other parents were impressed by the analogue watch on his wrist.

'I didn't outright ask, but got the impression that their kids couldn't read the time on an analog clock,' they wrote on the r/Parenting subreddit.

'It made me realise I rarely see kids with any watches besides a smart watch. Is this a thing now? Are kids no longer expected to read the time on a non-digital clock?' she asked.

Responses to her post largely agreed that analogue time is becoming less necessary to know, but said it was still an important skill to have.

'I'm a watch enthusiast, and for exactly that reason I can tell you that even among people who wear watches, it's often an Apple Watch or other device that displays digital time,' one user replied.

'It's an important life skill, but wrist watches are no longer as crucial as they once were, even for adults. While we are still working on it, I taught my first grader how to read analog clocks so he can have that independence for himself, if need be,' another user wrote.

By year three, students should be able to read, write and convert time between analogue and digital 12 hour and 24 hour clocks according to the official framework document for the national curriculum in England.

Trobe admitted that 'The current generation aren't as good at reading the traditional clock face as older generations.'

Does It Really Matter Though?

While some consider reading analogue time to be a crucial life skill, others believe it's not such a big deal.

'Can you use a slide rule? Can you edit a video?' Kester Brewin, author and head of communications at the Institute for the Future of Work, asked in response to criticism against UK schools switching to digital clocks.

Brewin, who is also a Math teacher and parent, pointed out that digital displays of time are a lot more common these days for children and adults alike, and that many once-essential life skills have phased out of use.

'How many of those now huffing about pupils so dim they can't read a clock face could themselves still calculate in pre-decimal currency, use an abacus, or calculate their longitude using a sextant?' he wrote in The Guardian.

'All these once-essential skills have fallen into disuse not because we have become more stupid, but because our tools have become more sophisticated,' he added.

Switching to digital clocks in exam rooms isn't an indication of students' growing stupidity then, but rather a way of catering towards the younger generations' ways of thinking and understanding.

Whether this is a case of skills lost or tools gained, one thing is clear: the ability to read analogue time may no longer be a given—and UK schools are adjusting accordingly.