How many weeks are in a school year in the UK?
Published 7 September 2026
A UK school year is about 39 weeks long. State schools in England and Wales must hold at least 380 sessions a year, and a session is a half day, so that is 190 days open to pupils: 38 weeks of teaching plus the odd days that make up the thirty-ninth. Teachers are contracted for five days more. The remaining 13 weeks are holiday. Scotland lands in the same place by a slightly different route, Northern Ireland runs a longer year, and independent schools run shorter.
That is the short answer. The rest of this page is the breakdown, because the number most parents actually need is not the total, it is how the 39 weeks fall.
How many terms are in a school year?
Three. Autumn, spring and summer, each split in two by a half-term break, which is why you will also hear people say six. The autumn term is the longest, usually 14 or 15 weeks including half term; spring is the shortest at 11 or 12 because of where Easter falls; summer is 12 or 13.
| Term | Runs | Teaching weeks (typical) |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn | Early September to mid or late December | 14 to 15 |
| Spring | Early January to late March or early April | 11 to 12 |
| Summer | Mid April to late July | 12 to 13 |
The holidays between them: about two weeks at Christmas, about two at Easter, six at summer, and a week at each of the three half terms. That is the 13.
How many school days are in a year?
In England and Wales, 190 for pupils. The figure comes from the requirement to hold at least 380 sessions a year, a session being a half day. Teachers are contracted for 195 days under the national pay and conditions document, and the extra five are INSET days, when the school is closed to children. Academies and free schools set their own calendars and can vary the pattern, though most stay close to 190.
Scotland's schools also run 190 pupil days, with five in-service days on top.
Northern Ireland is the one that breaks the pattern. Its schools must be open for 200 days, not 190, so the pupil year is about two weeks longer than the rest of the UK. The holidays are shaped differently too: the summer break begins on 1 July and schools resume around 1 September, which is roughly nine weeks against England's six.
Why do independent schools have shorter terms?
Independent schools typically teach for 33 to 35 weeks rather than 38 or 39. Terms start later and finish earlier, half terms are often longer (a week and a half or two weeks in the autumn is common), and the summer holiday can run to nine weeks. Boarding schools also have exeat weekends, when pupils go home mid-term.
If you have children at a state school and an independent school, expect their holidays to overlap only partly. The gaps are where most of the childcare problems live.
Why do the dates differ between schools in the same town?
Because the dates are set at different levels. Community schools follow their local council's calendar. Academies, free schools, foundation schools and voluntary-aided schools can set their own. Independent schools set their own entirely. Two schools on the same road can have different half terms, and often do.
So "how many weeks" has one answer and "which weeks" has thousands. The only reliable source for your child's school is the school's own published calendar, which is what our school term dates pages are built from.
How many weeks are left in the school year?
From the first day of the autumn term, about 39. From January, about 26. From the Easter return, about 12. If you want the count for a specific school, its term dates page has the actual dates for the current and next academic year.
