School Christmas Holidays 2026: Break-Up Dates by Council in England, Scotland and Wales

The City of Edinburgh Council ends term on Friday 18 December 2026 and starts the spring term on Wednesday 6 January 2027, while the Welsh Government lists 21 of 22 local authorities ending on 18 December and returning on Monday 4 January 2027. Seven English councils (Essex, Bristol, Surrey, Devon, Lancashire, Hertfordshire and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council) also end term on 18 December. The table below gives each council’s dates, a computed count of weekdays off and the source wording, and a printable at the end lists the dates to mark.

Christmas holiday dates 2026 by council

The weekday count is our computation: Monday to Friday between the last day of term and the day before pupils return, bank holidays included. “Not stated” means the council page does not give that date.

Council	Nation	Term ends	First day back	Weekdays off (our count)	Source wording
City of Edinburgh Council	Scotland	Fri 18 December 2026	Wed 6 January 2027	12	“Term ends Friday 18 December 2026”; holiday “Monday 21 December 2026 to Tuesday 5 January 2027”
21 Welsh local authorities (Anglesey to Wrexham, listed below)	Wales	Fri 18 December 2026	Mon 4 January 2027	10	Welsh Government approved dates
Powys	Wales	Tue 22 December 2026	Mon 4 January 2027	8	The one exception on the Welsh Government list
Essex County Council	England	Fri 18 December 2026	Mon 4 January 2027	10	“Autumn Term: Tuesday 1 September 2026 – Friday 18 December 2026”
Bristol City Council	England	Fri 18 December 2026	Mon 4 January 2027	10	Term 2 “02 November 2026 To 18 December 2026”; Term 3 “From: 04 January 2027”
Surrey County Council	England	Fri 18 December 2026	Mon 4 January 2027	10	Autumn ends 18 December 2026; spring starts 4 January 2027
Devon County Council	England	Fri 18 December 2026	Mon 4 January 2027	10	“Ends: Friday 18 December 2026”; Christmas “Monday 21 December 2026 to Friday 1 January 2027”
Lancashire County Council	England	Fri 18 December 2026	Mon 4 January 2027	10	Autumn ends Friday 18 December 2026; spring Monday 4 January 2027
Hertfordshire County Council	England	Fri 18 December 2026	Not stated on the council page	Not stated	“Christmas holiday: 21 December 2026 – 1 January 2027”
BCP Council (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)	England	Fri 18 December 2026	Mon 4 January 2027	10	Christmas holiday 21 December to 3 January; spring term 4 January
Northern Ireland Department of Education	Northern Ireland	Not stated	Not stated	10 inside the break	Christmas and New Year “21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027”

The 21 Welsh authorities that share the 18 December and 4 January dates are Anglesey, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan and Wrexham. The Welsh Government page was first published on 25 June 2025 and updated on 16 July 2025.

Why do Edinburgh pupils get two more days off?

Edinburgh returns on Wednesday 6 January 2027, two days after the Monday 4 January start that Wales, Essex, Bristol, Surrey, Devon, Lancashire and BCP Council list. By our count that gives Edinburgh pupils 12 weekdays off against 10. Powys goes the other way: it ends term on Tuesday 22 December, three days after the 18 December finish elsewhere in Wales, so its break is 8 weekdays.

Which bank holidays fall inside the school break?

GOV.UK lists Christmas Day on Friday 25 December 2026, a Boxing Day substitute day on Monday 28 December 2026 and New Year’s Day on Friday 1 January 2027 for England and Wales and for Scotland. For Scotland it also lists Monday 4 January 2027 as the “2nd January (substitute day)”. So three of the 10 weekdays off in England and Wales are bank holidays, and four of Edinburgh’s 12 are. The reason for the moved days is in our story on Christmas bank holidays in 2026, and the full list for next year is in UK bank holidays in 2027.

Do all schools in a council follow these dates?

No. Devon calls its dates “recommended, not mandatory” and says academies and free schools are not bound by them. Hertfordshire says academies, voluntary-aided, foundation and free schools “may have different dates”. Lancashire says “Individual school holidays may vary from this framework”, and BCP Council says “Schools can decide to operate different term dates.” Surrey says schools set their own In-Service Training (INSET) days, so a school may close or open on a day that differs from the council page.

For Northern Ireland, the Department of Education lists the Christmas and New Year holidays as 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027. It does not give the last day of term or the first day back on that page. Dates for Glasgow, Kent, Birmingham, Hampshire, Manchester, Fife, Aberdeen, Leeds, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Cornwall and Westminster are not given here; check each council’s own term-dates page.

What comes after the Christmas break?

Essex lists the spring term from Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027, and BCP Council lists 4 January to 25 March. February half term and Easter are covered in our UK school term dates for 2026-27 and 2027-28. To plan the weeks, print the December 2026 calendar and the January 2027 calendar, or use the printable school calendar.