May half term

May half term 2027: start dates range from Saturday 29 May to Tuesday 1 June, depending on the area.

The dates of May half term by region, for this school year and the years ahead.

School year 2026-2027

May half term in the 2026-2027 school year: dates and number of days by region
Region	Period	Days
Blackburn with Darwen	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Derbyshire	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Gloucestershire	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Hillingdon	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Kent	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Kingston upon Thames	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Lincolnshire	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
North East Lincolnshire	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
North Lincolnshire	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
North Somerset	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
North Tyneside	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Northumberland	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Oldham	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Plymouth	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Reading	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Richmond upon Thames	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Rutland	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Somerset	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
St Helens	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Swindon	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Warrington	29 May – 6 Jun 2027	9
Anglesey	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Barking and Dagenham	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Barnet	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Barnsley	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bath and North East Somerset	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bedford	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bexley	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Birmingham	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Blaenau Gwent	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bolton	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bournemouth christchurch and poole	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bracknell Forest	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bradford	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Brent	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bridgend	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bristol	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bromley	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Buckinghamshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Bury	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Caerphilly	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Calderdale	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Cambridgeshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Camden	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Cardiff	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Carmarthenshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Central Bedfordshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Ceredigion	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Cheshire East	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Cheshire West and Chester	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Conwy	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Cornwall	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Coventry	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Cumberland	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Denbighshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Derby	31 May – 6 Jun 2027	7
Doncaster	31 May – 6 Jun 2027	7
Dudley	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Ealing London	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
East Riding of Yorkshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Enfield	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Essex	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Flintshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Greenwich	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Gwynedd	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Hackney	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Halton	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Hammersmith and Fulham	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Hampshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Haringey	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Harrow	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Havering	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Herefordshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Hertfordshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Hounslow	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Isle of Wight	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Islington	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Knowsley	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Lancashire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Leeds	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Leicester	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Leicestershire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Lewisham	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Liverpool	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Luton	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Manchester	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Merthyr Tydfil	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Merton	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Milton Keynes	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Monmouthshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Neath Port Talbot	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Newcastle	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Newham	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Newport	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Norfolk	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Nottingham	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Nottinghamshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Pembrokeshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Peterborough	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Portsmouth	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Powys	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Redbridge	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Rhondda Cynon Taf	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Rochdale	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Salford	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Sandwell	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Sefton	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Sheffield	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Shropshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Southampton	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Southend-on-Sea	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Southwark	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Stockport primary	31 May – 11 Jun 2027	12
Stockport secondary	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Stockton-on-Tees	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Suffolk	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Surrey	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Sutton	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Swansea	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Telford and Wrekin	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Thurrock	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Torbay	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Torfaen	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Tower Hamlets	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Vale of Glamorgan	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Wakefield	31 May – 6 Jun 2027	7
Walsall	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Waltham Forest	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Wandsworth	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Warwickshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
West Berkshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
West northamptonshire	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
West Sussex	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Westmorland and furness	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Wigan	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Wolverhampton	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Wrexham	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
York	31 May – 4 Jun 2027	5
Brighton and Hove	1 – 4 Jun 2027	4
Dorset	1 – 4 Jun 2027	4
North northamptonshire	1 – 4 Jun 2027	4
North Yorkshire	1 – 4 Jun 2027	4
Oxfordshire	1 – 4 Jun 2027	4
Rotherham	1 – 4 Jun 2027	4

School year 2027-2028

May half term in the 2027-2028 school year: dates and number of days by region
Region	Period	Days
Derbyshire	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Gloucestershire	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Hillingdon	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Kent	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Kingston upon Thames	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Lincolnshire	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
North East Lincolnshire	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
North Lincolnshire	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
North Somerset	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
North Tyneside	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Northumberland	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Oldham	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Plymouth	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Reading	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Richmond upon Thames	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Rutland	27 May – 4 Jun 2028(provisional)	9
Somerset	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
St Helens	27 May – 4 Jun 2028(provisional)	9
Swindon	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Warrington	27 May – 4 Jun 2028	9
Anglesey	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Barnsley	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bath and North East Somerset	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bedford	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bexley	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Birmingham	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Blaenau Gwent	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bolton	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bournemouth christchurch and poole	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bracknell Forest	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bradford	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bridgend	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bristol	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bromley	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Buckinghamshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Bury	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Caerphilly	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Calderdale	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Cambridgeshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Cardiff	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Carmarthenshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Central Bedfordshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Ceredigion	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Cheshire East	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Cheshire West and Chester	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Conwy	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Cornwall	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Coventry	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Cumberland	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Denbighshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Derby	29 May – 4 Jun 2028	7
Dudley	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Ealing London	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
East Riding of Yorkshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Enfield	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Flintshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Greenwich	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Gwynedd	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Halton	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Hampshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Havering	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Herefordshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Hertfordshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Hounslow	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Isle of Wight	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Islington	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Knowsley	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Lancashire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Leeds	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Lewisham	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Liverpool	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Luton	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Merthyr Tydfil	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Merton	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Milton Keynes	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Monmouthshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Neath Port Talbot	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Newcastle	29 May – 2 Jun 2028(provisional)	5
Newport	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Norfolk	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Nottingham	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Nottinghamshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Pembrokeshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Peterborough	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Portsmouth	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Powys	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Redbridge	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Rhondda Cynon Taf	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Rochdale	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Salford	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Sandwell	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Sefton	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Sheffield	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Shropshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Southampton	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Stockport primary	29 May – 9 Jun 2028	12
Stockport secondary	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Suffolk	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Surrey	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Sutton	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Swansea	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Telford and Wrekin	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Thurrock	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Torbay	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Torfaen	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Tower Hamlets	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Vale of Glamorgan	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Wakefield	29 May – 4 Jun 2028	7
Walsall	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Waltham Forest	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Warwickshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
West northamptonshire	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
West Sussex	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Westmorland and furness	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Wigan	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Wolverhampton	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Wrexham	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
York	29 May – 2 Jun 2028	5
Brighton and Hove	30 May – 2 Jun 2028	4
Dorset	30 May – 2 Jun 2028	4
Essex	30 May – 2 Jun 2028	4
Hammersmith and Fulham	30 May – 2 Jun 2028	4
North northamptonshire	30 May – 2 Jun 2028	4
North Yorkshire	30 May – 2 Jun 2028	4
Oxfordshire	30 May – 2 Jun 2028	4
Rotherham	30 May – 2 Jun 2028	4
Southend-on-Sea	30 May – 2 Jun 2028	4

School year 2028-2029

May half term in the 2028-2029 school year: dates and number of days by region
Region	Period	Days
Derbyshire	26 May – 3 Jun 2029	9
Hillingdon	26 May – 3 Jun 2029	9
Bolton	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Cheshire East	28 May – 1 Jun 2029(provisional)	5
Cheshire West and Chester	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Cumberland	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Derby	28 May – 3 Jun 2029	7
Greenwich	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Hampshire	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Herefordshire	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Hounslow	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Lewisham	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Liverpool	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Nottingham	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Nottinghamshire	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Salford	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Sefton	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Sutton	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5
Wakefield	28 May – 3 Jun 2029(provisional)	7
Westmorland and furness	28 May – 1 Jun 2029	5

School year 2029-2030

May half term in the 2029-2030 school year: dates and number of days by region
Region	Period	Days
Derbyshire	25 May – 2 Jun 2030	9
Hillingdon	25 May – 2 Jun 2030	9
Derby	27 May – 2 Jun 2030	7
Greenwich	27 – 31 May 2030	5
Hampshire	27 – 31 May 2030	5
Hounslow	27 – 31 May 2030	5
Lewisham	27 – 31 May 2030	5
Nottingham	27 – 31 May 2030	5
Nottinghamshire	27 – 31 May 2030	5
Sutton	27 – 31 May 2030	5

Dates are taken from official publications. Schools may have additional days off, so check with your school if in doubt.

Sources: Official source (Blackburn with Darwen), Official source (Derbyshire), Official source (Gloucestershire), Official source (Hillingdon) and 122 more. Last checked: 4 October 2026. More about our sources

When is the May half term?

In England and Wales, the May half term is a one-week break in the middle of the summer term, usually in the last week of May. In most areas it is linked to the spring bank holiday on the last Monday in May, so the bank holiday falls at the start of or during the half-term week. Academies and other schools that set their own dates may differ from the council.

Exams and the summer term

For secondary school pupils, the May half term often falls in the middle of the exam season for GCSEs and A levels. Many use the week for revision, and some schools offer revision sessions. Exams usually continue after half term until late June.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland does not usually have a May half term. Instead, schools close for the May bank holidays and, in some areas, a local holiday. In Northern Ireland, schools close for the May bank holidays, and some take a few extra days around them.

Tips for the May half term

With the bank holiday and often good weather, the May half term is a popular week for camping, short breaks and days out. Book accommodation early, and expect busy roads on the bank holiday weekend.

Frequently asked questions

When is the May half term?

In England and Wales usually in the last week of May, around the spring bank holiday.

Does Scotland have a May half term?

Not usually. Scottish schools close for the May bank holidays and sometimes a local holiday, but there is no full half-term week.