When Do Schools Break Up?

England and Wales

When do schools break up for October half term 2026?

In most council areas, schools break up on Friday 23 October 2026 and go back on Monday 2 November 2026. That's 160 of the 171 councils in England and Wales we cover; the rest are listed below.

Check your school's dates. These are councils' dates for community and voluntary controlled schools. Academies, free schools and some church schools set their own, so check your school's website. INSET days are set by each school.

October half term, 2026/27 school year

171 councils, grouped by their dates
Breaks upBackCouncils
Fri 23 Oct 2026Mon 2 Nov 2026
160 councils: show the listBarking and Dagenham, Barnet, Barnsley, Bath and North East Somerset, Bedford, Bexley, Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blaenau Gwent, Bolton, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Bracknell Forest, Bradford, Brent, Bridgend, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Bury, Caerphilly, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire, Camden, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Central Bedfordshire, Ceredigion, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Conwy, Cornwall, County Durham, Coventry, Croydon, Cumberland, Darlington, Denbighshire, Derby, Derbyshire, Devon, Doncaster, Dorset, Dudley, Ealing, East Riding of Yorkshire, East Sussex, Enfield, Essex, Flintshire, Gateshead, Gloucestershire, Greenwich, Gwynedd, Hackney, Halton, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hampshire, Haringey, Harrow, Hartlepool, Havering, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Hull, Isle of Anglesey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kent, Kingston upon Thames, Kirklees, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leeds, Lewisham, Lincolnshire, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Medway, Merthyr Tydfil, Merton, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newham, Newport, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, North Somerset, North Tyneside, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Oldham, Oxfordshire, Pembrokeshire, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Powys, Reading, Redbridge, Redcar and Cleveland, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Richmond upon Thames, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield, Shropshire, Slough, Solihull, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Southampton, Southend-on-Sea, Southwark, St. Helens, Staffordshire, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent, Suffolk, Sunderland, Sutton, Swansea, Tameside, Telford and Wrekin, Thurrock, Torbay, Torfaen, Tower Hamlets, Trafford, Vale of Glamorgan, Wakefield, Walsall, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Warrington, Warwickshire, West Berkshire, West Northamptonshire, West Sussex, Westminster, Westmorland and Furness, Wigan, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wirral, Wokingham, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire, Wrexham, York
Fri 16 Oct 2026Mon 2 Nov 20266 Bromley, Isle of Wight, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Surrey
Fri 16 Oct 2026Mon 26 Oct 20262 Leicester, Leicestershire
Wed 21 Oct 2026Mon 2 Nov 20262 Swindon, Wiltshire
Thu 22 Oct 2026Mon 2 Nov 20261 Norfolk

Two-week October half term: Bromley, Isle of Wight, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Surrey have a two-week break in 2026/27.

October half term, 2027/28 school year

161 councils, grouped by their dates
Breaks upBackCouncils
Fri 22 Oct 2027Mon 1 Nov 2027
152 councils: show the listBarking and Dagenham, Barnet, Barnsley, Bath and North East Somerset, Bedford, Bexley, Birmingham, Blaenau Gwent, Bolton, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Bracknell Forest, Bradford, Brent, Bridgend, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Bury, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Central Bedfordshire, Ceredigion, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Conwy, Cornwall, County Durham, Coventry, Croydon, Cumberland, Darlington, Denbighshire, Derby, Derbyshire, Devon, Doncaster, Dorset, Dudley, Ealing, East Riding of Yorkshire, East Sussex, Enfield, Essex, Flintshire, Gateshead, Gloucestershire, Greenwich, Gwynedd, Halton, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hampshire, Haringey, Harrow, Hartlepool, Havering, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Hull, Isle of Anglesey, Islington, Kent, Kingston upon Thames, Kirklees, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leeds, Lewisham, Lincolnshire, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Medway, Merthyr Tydfil, Merton, Milton Keynes, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newham, Newport, Norfolk, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, North Somerset, North Tyneside, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Oldham, Oxfordshire, Pembrokeshire, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Powys, Reading, Redbridge, Redcar and Cleveland, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Richmond upon Thames, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield, Shropshire, Slough, Solihull, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Southend-on-Sea, Southwark, St. Helens, Staffordshire, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent, Suffolk, Sunderland, Surrey, Sutton, Tameside, Telford and Wrekin, Thurrock, Torbay, Torfaen, Tower Hamlets, Trafford, Vale of Glamorgan, Wakefield, Walsall, Wandsworth, Warrington, Warwickshire, West Berkshire, West Northamptonshire, West Sussex, Westmorland and Furness, Wigan, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wirral, Wokingham, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire, Wrexham, York
Fri 15 Oct 2027Mon 1 Nov 20275 Bromley, Isle of Wight, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Rutland
Fri 15 Oct 2027Mon 25 Oct 20272 Leicester, Leicestershire
Wed 20 Oct 2027Mon 1 Nov 20272 Swindon, Wiltshire

Two-week October half term: Bromley, Isle of Wight, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Rutland have a two-week break in 2027/28.

Other school holidays