English school holidays issued with a penalty notice whenever they take their children on holiday during term time without getting authorisation from the school. Penalty notices can be issued by local councils, headteachers (including deputy and assistant heads authorised by them) and the police. Generally, schools will agree to no more than 10 school days of absence in any school year. The Swallows and Amazons series of children’s novels by Arthur Ransome are all set in the school holidays, generally the long (August) summer holidays although some are set in Easter or winter. For example, in "Pigeon Post", he wrote: "Term time was
Swallows and Amazons (2016 film) spend their days searching for Pokémon or playing Call Of Duty. Instead, they had rip-roaring adventures in sailing boats and camped on remote islands." He found the "loving Hovis-ad fashion, complete with tweed caps, cardigans and idyllic villages that always seem to be full of bunting " of the filming to be evocative but was less impressed that "For no apparent reason, the filmmakers have grafted on a John Buchan/Alfred Hitchcock-style spy story to proceedings". Macnab concluded, "The film is at its best when the adults are kept at bay. [It] really takes wing […] when the Swallows and Amazons