Half Term Dates

[DeeLicious]

what are the half term dates in uk schools for this coming autumn term?

[fiction-factory]

They vary. England/Wales or Scotland?
Probably last week in October give or take a week

[horselady]

It differs for each local authority, I always check the school website but some of them don't put the information on until the beginning of the new term.

[fiction-factory]

I suggest you look ona few schol websites in teh relevant area. Or if you are going on holiday look for the more expensive dates- that ususally indicates when it's school holiday time

[horselady]

Just checked ours and they finish on 25th October and go back on 5th November.

[HansUrbancka]

The following link should give you the answer :-

https://termdates.co.uk/search-region/

Hans.

[HansUrbancka]

Please ignore my posting above....The link is out of date.
Try this one :-

https://myschoolholidays.com/

Hans.

[fiction-factory]

Friday 19th October seems a popular date for breaking up, returning on 29th

[Buenchico]

To summarise some of the above (and to add a bit more):

1. Scotland has a completely different education system to the rest of the UK, so their holiday dates have always differed greatly from those in England.

2. Holiday dates have traditionally been set by local education authorities, with each council area choosing their own dates. So there's always been a bit of variation in holiday dates across the country.

3. However nearly all secondary schools in the country, and a large number of primary schools, have now withdrawn from local authority control anyway and taken on 'academy' status'. That means that they're not obliged to follow local authority guidelines on holidays and are free to choose their own holiday patterns. (They have to ensure that their teachers attend for 195 days each year, and that their pupils attend for 190 days, but they're otherwise free to choose any term pattern they choose).

4. Some schools have now totally abandoned the traditional three-term school year, in favour of a six-term one where (other possibly than closing on public holidays) things like 'Easter holidays' no longer exist. That means that they have a shorter summer break but longer ones elsewhere (often at times when other schools in the area aren't on holiday). There are NO 'half-term' holidays but just six holiday periods (of roughly equal length) throughout the year. Norwich Free School provides a good example:
http://freeschoolnorwich.org.uk/onewebmedia/School%20Term%20Dates%202017%20to%202018%20(1).doc

5. Independent schools have never been obliged to follow a holiday pattern set externally and have always been free to choose their own dates. In some of the more affluent parts of Surrey, for example, over 90% of children attend independent schools.

6. The only way to be sure of the holiday dates which apply to a particular school is to look on their website (or to ask them directly).

[Jackdaw33]

When I was teaching, a few years ago now, holidays were set by the LEA with five days in reserve which could be taken at the school's discretion, the only proviso being that one day had to be kept in case the school was being used as a polling station. The other four days were the choice of the Head and the staff. It became common practice to hve a long weekend, Friday till Monday, at the beginning of December. These were scurrilously referred to as teachers' Xmas shopping days, although they were nothing of the sort, merely an entitlement taken at a convenient time. This was abolished under Kenneth Baker in the 1980's. Pupils still got these days off but staff had to attend 'training courses', most of which were a complete waste of time. These became known as 'Baker Days'.