B&NES schools break up for Christmas on Friday 18 December 2026 and return 4 January. Every half term for 2026-27, plus the Bath schools that break up earlier.

Schools in Bath and North East Somerset break up for Christmas on Friday 18 December 2026 and go back on Monday 4 January 2027, on the dates the council recommends to every school in the district. October half term is the week of 26 October. But the council’s dates are a recommendation, not a rule: academies and independent schools set their own, and several of Bath’s best-known schools break up days or a week earlier. This page has the council calendar and the big exceptions, each from the school’s own published dates.

The quick answer

  • October half term: Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026. Term 2 starts Monday 2 November.
  • Christmas holidays: term ends Friday 18 December 2026, schools reopen Monday 4 January 2027.
  • February half term: Monday 15 to Friday 19 February 2027. Easter: term ends Thursday 25 March, back Monday 12 April.

The B&NES council term dates for 2026-27

These are the recommended dates on the council’s term dates page, fixed in April 2025. The council also publishes a printable calendar.

Term Starts Ends
Term 1 Wednesday 2 September 2026 Friday 23 October 2026
Term 2 Monday 2 November 2026 Friday 18 December 2026
Term 3 Monday 4 January 2027 Friday 12 February 2027
Term 4 Monday 22 February 2027 Thursday 25 March 2027
Term 5 Monday 12 April 2027 Friday 28 May 2027
Term 6 Monday 7 June 2027 Thursday 22 July 2027

That gives these holidays:

  • October half term: 26 to 30 October 2026
  • Christmas: 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027
  • February half term: 15 to 19 February 2027
  • Easter: 26 March to 9 April 2027 (Good Friday is 26 March, Easter Monday 29 March)
  • May half term: 31 May to 4 June 2027
  • Summer: from Friday 23 July 2027

The public holidays inside the school year, from the same page, are Christmas Day on Friday 25 December, the substitute Boxing Day holiday on Monday 28 December, New Year’s Day on Friday 1 January, and the May bank holidays on 3 and 31 May 2027.

INSET days are not on the council calendar. Each school chooses its own five from inside these dates, so two schools on the “same” calendar can still have children off on different days.

Bath schools with different dates

Four of Bath’s larger schools, checked against their own websites.

School October half term Christmas: last day Back in January Other differences
B&NES council calendar 26 to 30 Oct Fri 18 Dec Mon 4 Jan
Beechen Cliff (boys, academy) Pupils finish Wed 21 Oct Fri 18 Dec Tue 5 Jan INSET 22 and 23 Oct, 25 Nov, 4 Jan; summer term ends Fri 23 Jul
Ralph Allen (academy) 26 to 30 Oct Fri 18 Dec Mon 4 Jan INSET days 2 Sep, 2 Nov, 27 Nov, 12 Feb, 25 Mar, 22 Jul
King Edward’s School (independent) 19 to 30 Oct, two weeks Wed 16 Dec Wed 6 Jan INSET 2 Oct and 23 Nov; summer term ends 13 or 14 Jul
Kingswood School (independent) Starts Fri 16 Oct, back Mon 2 Nov Thu 10 Dec Tue 5 Jan Easter from Fri 26 Mar; summer term ends 7 Jul

The detail behind that table:

  • Beechen Cliff School lists its autumn term as ending on Wednesday 21 October, followed by INSET days on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October, so its boys get most of a week longer than the council calendar. Pupils return on Monday 2 November, have an INSET day on Wednesday 25 November, break up on Friday 18 December, and come back on Tuesday 5 January after an INSET day on Monday 4 January.
  • Ralph Allen School follows the council’s terms exactly, but its six INSET days are Wednesday 2 September, Monday 2 November, Friday 27 November, Friday 12 February, Thursday 25 March and Thursday 22 July. So Ralph Allen pupils go back on Tuesday 3 November, not Monday 2 November, after October half term.
  • King Edward’s School, in its dates document updated August 2026, runs its autumn term from 3 September to 16 December, with a two-week half term from 19 to 30 October and staff INSET days on 2 October and 23 November. Spring term runs 6 January to 25 March, with half term 15 to 19 February.
  • Kingswood School starts half term on Friday 16 October, with all pupils gone by 5pm; day pupils return on Monday 2 November. The autumn term ends for pupils on Thursday 10 December, eight days before the council calendar. Spring term starts for day pupils on Tuesday 5 January, with half term from Friday 12 February to a return on Monday 22 February, and ends on Thursday 25 March.

If your children are at two different schools, the Christmas mismatch is the one to plan around: a Kingswood pupil is on holiday from 11 December, a KES pupil from 17 December, and a child at a school on the council calendar not until after 18 December.

Next year’s dates are already set

The council has also fixed the 2027-28 calendar, published in March 2026. Term 1 runs from Wednesday 1 September to Friday 22 October 2027, and Term 2 from Monday 1 November to Friday 17 December 2027. Schools go back on Tuesday 4 January 2028, because Monday 3 January is the New Year bank holiday.

What to do with the holidays

For October half term, our Bath Halloween and half term page lists what is on across the district from 26 October. For the Christmas holidays, see the Bath Christmas Market, Bath on Ice and the pantomime at the Theatre Royal. Bin days also move over Christmas: see Bath Christmas bin collections.

Still to be confirmed

  • INSET days for schools that have not yet published them. Check your own school’s website or newsletter; the council does not collect them.
  • Primary academies in the district’s multi-academy trusts can differ from the council calendar in the same way as the secondaries above. This page will add more schools as they publish.

For the school run, see parking in Bath and the Bath roadworks page.