UK school half-term dates 2026 to 2027: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Half-term is one of those things every parent needs to know six months in advance and can never quite find in one place. Every UK nation sets its own school calendar, every local authority tweaks the recommended dates, and every school layers its own INSET (in-service training) days on top. That is why your neighbour a few miles away sometimes breaks up on a different Friday.

This guide pulls together the 2026 to 2027 half-term windows for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, based on the recommended patterns from national governments and a sample of the largest local authorities. Use it as a starting point for holiday planning, then double-check the exact days with your child's school before you book anything.

5 – Half-term and holiday windows. UK school years typically include three shorter half-term or mid-term breaks (autumn, spring, summer) plus the longer Christmas and Easter breaks in between; Scotland structures its mid-year breaks differently

There is no single UK school calendar. Education is devolved, so England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each set their own framework, and within each country local councils (or in Northern Ireland the Department of Education) publish recommended dates.

In England, the Department for Education leaves term-date setting to local authorities, academy trusts and individual schools. Most maintained schools follow their council's pattern, but academies are free to differ. Wales moved to a set of harmonised recommended dates issued by the Welsh Government, with a few exceptions such as Powys ending earlier in July. Scotland's 32 councils each publish their own calendar, and dates around October and February vary noticeably between areas. Northern Ireland publishes a common framework via the Department of Education, though schools can operate on those dates at their own discretion.

The upshot: The dates below are a strong indicator, not a guarantee. If you are planning a holiday around them, check your specific school's published calendar.

The pattern below reflects the most common set of dates across English local authorities for 2026 to 2027, including boroughs such as Greenwich, Ealing, Luton and Kent County Council. Autumn half-term tends to be the most consistent nationwide, while February and May can shift by a week in some areas.

A few things worth noting for England. The May half-term always overlaps the late-May bank holiday, which is why it usually starts on the Monday of that week. Some London boroughs stagger their February half-term to help spread pressure on family services and travel. And most schools now include one or two INSET days at the start or end of terms, which effectively extend the break for pupils.

The Welsh Government publishes recommended harmonised term dates that most local authorities across Wales adopt. The 2026 to 2027 pattern is set out below. Powys is the standard exception, breaking up earlier in December and July to fit around the Royal Welsh Show.

Wales tends to take its spring half-term a week earlier than most English councils, which is worth knowing if you have family or friends across the border. The autumn and May half-terms usually align with England, so cousins on either side of the Severn should be off at the same time.

Scotland's school year runs on a different rhythm. Schools go back in mid-August rather than early September, and the mid-year breaks are called by different names: The October week, the February mid-term, and the spring break rather than Easter. Every one of the 32 councils sets its own calendar, so dates vary more here than anywhere else in the UK.

The two tables below show Edinburgh and Glasgow as reference points, since together they cover a large share of Scottish pupils. Check your own council's site for exact dates in your area.

The Department of Education in Northern Ireland publishes a common framework of school closure dates. Individual schools can operate on those dates at their own discretion, and schools receive extra closure days each year for professional development.

The Northern Ireland pattern is slightly leaner on the shoulder breaks (two days for autumn and February half-term, rather than a full week), but the Easter break and summer holiday tend to be longer than in most English regions to balance it out.

It can feel arbitrary, but the variation comes from a mix of history, local demand and practical constraints. Councils weigh things like the timing of bank holidays, teacher training days, exam windows, agricultural events (Powys is the classic example), and even tourism pressure at popular half-term destinations.

Academies and multi-academy trusts in England add another layer. They are legally free to set their own term dates, and many now publish calendars that differ from their local council by a day or two. If you have children at different schools, it is worth putting all the calendars into one shared document at the start of the year so nothing catches you out.

If you have a child heading into GCSEs or A-levels in summer 2027, the second half of the year is when half-terms start to matter for revision planning rather than just holidays.

February half-term is usually the first serious block of revision time, because it comes about three months before the main exam window opens in mid-May. Most students find it useful to spend at least a portion of that week doing structured past paper practice, particularly for subjects where they are shakier. Our parent guide on when to start revising has more on how to pace this, and Cognito's GCSE courses (or A-Level courses for Year 13s) give students a topic-by-topic map to work through in the week off.

The May half-term is different. It normally falls right in the middle of the exam period, so it becomes a short recovery and re-focus window rather than a fresh block of revision. Some exams may already have happened by then; others are still to come. Plan for rest as much as for revision.

The most reliable source is always your child's school website, usually under a section called "term dates" or "school calendar". After that, your local authority's education pages are the next best source. National government pages tend to publish only the framework, not the day-by-day calendar.

A few quick tips. Screenshot the calendar as soon as it is published each summer and save it somewhere findable, so you are not chasing it every time a birthday party invitation lands. Cross-check INSET days: A five-day autumn half-term can quickly become six or seven days if the school has stacked training days on either side. And if you have children at more than one school, compare their published calendars side by side, especially around the shoulder days.