[It is 57 below zero]

In the UK it is rare for schools to begin earlier than 8:30 or 9:00.

The reason why some schools here could start at like 7-something or even before then, is because of one of two reasons:

1) some places have schools of different grade levels start at different times so that the same buses can be used to pick up and drop off more than just one set of students everyday. And they have high schools start earlier (when they aren't able to fall asleep earlier) to prevent younger ones from being outside so early when, for about three months of the year (Oct-Dec or something like that) it can still be kind of dark at 6 or 7 in the morning, and half of them would get home hours before their parents.

2) many high schoolers work part time jobs or do a lot of stuff after school, and some people don't get home until like as late as 8 or 9 at night, and this is without dinner or homework in the equation. so an early start means an early dismissal, so for those that do things after school they can still be home at a reasonable time.

I would like it if school started earlier and ended earlier, personally.