Eamonn Holmes, Davina McCall and Kirstie Allsopp rally behind Gary Lineker who said homework should be BANNED (and they're even calling for a national boycott day)
- The Match of the Day host, 56, has called for a ban on 'stressful' homework
- Father-of-four says it 'drives a massive wedge' between parents and children
- Former England striker said he was more focused on his football career at school
- Celebrities have rallied behind him, agreeing that it's pointless
- Kirstie Allsopp described it as 'an absurd hangover from another time'
Stars including Eamonn Holmes, Kirstie Allsopp and Davina McCall have shown their support for Gary Lineker after he said schools should stop giving children homework because it is too stressful for them and their parents.
The Match of the Day Host, 56, claims students do long enough hours at school and the father-of-four added homework merely 'drives a massive wedge' between youngsters and their parents - who inevitably end up doing the work.
TV presenter Kirstie sent a stream of tweets in support of Gary's message, one of which was re-tweeted by Davina McCall.
Gary Lineker says homework should be shown the red card because it is too 'stressful' for children and 'drives a wedge' between youngsters and their parents who end up doing it. Lineker with his sons (from left) Harry, 22, Angus, 18, George, 24, and Tobias, 20, from his 20-year marriage to Michelle Cockayne, which ended in 2006
She wrote: 'No evidence that under 10s gain from homework AND kids hate it, parents hate it & teachers hate it.
'Homework is an absurd hangover from another time. Much, much better to focus on reading, reading, reading and more reading.
'I wonder if we could organise a national boycott homework day? We'd need teachers onside as well as parents.'
Father-of-four Eamonn tweeted Gary saying: 'Good to see you last night. With you all the way on this. @KirstieMAllsopp and @Fern_Britton and I have been saying this for years.'
Eamonn Holmes agreed with Gary, whilst TV presenter Kirstie sent a stream of tweets in support of Gary's message, one of which was re-tweeted by Davina McCall
The Match of the Day Host, 56, claims students do long enough hours at school
Lineker has sons George, 24, Harry, 22, Tobias, 20, and Angus, 18, from his 20-year marriage to Michelle Cockayne, which ended in 2006.
Lineker told Sport magazine: 'Homework should be banned. All it does is drive a massive wedge between parents and children because you end up having to do it for them, and it's stressful.
'They get stressed and they don't want to do it. They're at school long enough as it is. Why do you have to come home and do two hours of homework?
'I don't think many people probably agree with me. But a lot of parents would, especially if you've had four boys.'
Kirstie Allsopp with her sons, Bay and Oscar, in 2014
Eamonn took the debate on air on This Morning, where he was joined by a former teacher and an exam expert to discuss the matter.
Nicola Walters, a former teacher and mother-of-two, claimed that homework reinforces discipline and bridges that gap about what you have learned at school and then at home.
Richard Riddell, an exam expert and teacher, explained that people forget 80 per cent of what they have learnt so homework reinforces it.
Eamonn's wife Ruth said that homework makes parents feel 'inadequate'.
She said: ‘Shakespeare, really? I have A-levels in English language and literature but have I ever used them in my life? We should teach them how to budget how to get a mortgage.'
Gary's comments came after the former England striker famously became embroiled in a spat with a top public school after his son George failed to get into university.
Father-of-four Eamonn, left, tweeted Gary saying: 'Good to see you last night. With you all the way on this. @KirstieMAllsopp and @Fern_Britton and I have been saying this for years'. Davina, a mother of three, retweeted Kirstie Allsopp
In 2010, he criticised the £25,000-a-year Charterhouse public school after George did not secure a place at his chosen university.
The then-18-year-old missed the three B grades or equivalent points he needed to read Business at Manchester University.
The former footballer had claimed Charterhouse used George as a 'guinea pig' after it brought in an alternative to the A-level system known as the Cambridge Pre-U in 2008.
Lineker, who got As in O-level maths and English and Ds in science, said his focus while at school was on football.
Gary Lineker and sons Angus, Tobias and George at a film premiere in 2015
The football pundit with his sons, pictured together in May last year
He added: 'My last report said something along the lines of, "He concentrates far too much on football. He'll never make a living at that".'
Lineker married his second wife Danielle Bux in a secret £400 civil ceremony in Italy in 2009 with a lavish reception estimated to have cost £250,000.
The couple divorced last January, but remain on friendly terms. Lineker, 55, has reportedly given his blessing to 37-year-old Danielle’s plans to marry LA lawyer Nate Greenwald.
Their split came amid reports the football pundit did not want more children.
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