SOUTHAMPTON school bosses are expected to follow Hampshire's lead and introduce a six-term year from September 2005.

The city council's executive member for education Councillor Calvin Horner will make a final decision next Monday.

He is widely expected to bring the city's term dates into line with Hampshire's schools, agreed last month.

The proposed change will see a fixed two-week spring break during the first two weeks of April regardless of when Easter falls.

If Easter occurs outside the holiday period, Good Friday and Easter Monday will still be taken as bank holidays.

A citywide consultation found support for the six-term year to be divided.

In April this year the Southampton teachers liaison panel concluded that to set different dates for Hampshire and Southampton schools would cause major disruption for the schools, pupils and their families.

Under the six-term year the number of days attended by pupils will remain the same at 190. This excludes the five term time training days for teachers.

The city's education boss Ian Sandbrook has described the proposal which will mean more standardised terms of six or seven weeks as "sensible."

However, next week one of Hampshire's biggest teaching unions plans to send out ballot papers to 4,000 teachers asking if they want to take strike action over the six-term year.

The National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers is angry at the way Hampshire County Council carried out its consultation. Union chiefs claim the council ignored the majority of teachers' views.

SOUTHAMPTON'S PROPOSED SCHOOL HOLIDAY DATE 2005/2006 ARE:

A one-week break in October (October 24 - October 28)

A two-week break in December (December 19 to January 2)

A one-week break in February (February 13 to February 17)

A spring break in the first two weeks of April, independent of Easter (April 3 to April 17)

A one-week break in May (May 29 to June 2)

A summer break ( July 25 to September 1)