21-07-2025
Will Scotland's school holidays change after English pupils get half-term extension?
The shake-up means children are having the autumn half term holiday extended for one particular reason
School holidays are often a blessing and a curse for parents and children. While pupils will be happily enjoying the time off until they have to pick up their pen and paper again, parents might struggle for activities to keep them occupied.
However, when it comes to holidays, mums and dads might want more leeway to allow them to snap up off-peak travel deals. And down in England, they are accommodating that, with some pupils getting a half-term extension.
Certain schools south of the border are granting pupils an additional week off to allow parents to take advantage of "cheaper holidays". The autumn half-term break is being extended from one week to two in a bid to make holidays more affordable for parents.
To compensate, the length of school days will be slightly increased throughout the year. Schools leading the change include North Walsham High School and Long Stratton High School, both managed by the same trust in Norfolk.
The Enrich Learning Trust, which operates North Walsham and Long Stratton high schools, said: "Having consulted with their school communities, they are planning a pilot of a two-week half-term in October 2025, with the aim of improving attendance in the second half of the autumn term, having had a slightly longer break."
So, could Scotland's schools follow suit and have their holidays changed to mimic what's happening down south?
Well, in Scotland, each local authority sets its own terms and school holidays. The school year covers three terms and lasts at least 190 days (38 weeks).
The school year usually begins in the second or third week of August. There are breaks of one or two weeks in October and at Christmas and Easter. Some education authorities have a short break in mid-February.
Schools also have a number of single day holidays, in line with Scotland's system of local holidays.
Currently, there are no plans to change Scotland's school holidays, and there have been little changes in recent times. Even during Covid, in December 2020, proposals to extend the Christmas school holidays were scrapped.
Fast forward to May this year, proposed changes to school terms in North Lanarkshire were knocked back after a consultation exercise showed strong support for the current arrangements.
The first option was similar to the status quo, including the September weekend, one week off in October, and a Monday and Tuesday holiday for the February mid-term break.
The other option was one day less at the September weekend, two weeks' holiday in October, and a Friday-Monday holiday for the February mid-term break. This would also have seen the February in-service day moved to January and holidays reduced in December, April and May. More than half said they preferred the first option.
However, last month, West Lothian council did agree to revise its term dates for the new school year in 2026-27 after concerns were raised about the SQA exam dates. The changes will see the Easter holiday moved forward, and will also take account of the council election in early May 2027.
Taking to North Lanarkshire Council's Facebook when the options were put forward, one parent wrote: "Option B... will make the cost of a holiday much cheaper in October as you will have more flexibility on your dates.
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"Shame they don't make the summer holiday one week shorter and keep some of the traditional bank holidays like the September weekend."
A second shared: "An extra week in October sounds fine but not when it's taking the other long weekends from throughout the year. A week off of the summer holidays and adding it to October would make more sense to me."
A third added: "October is not a good month to have two weeks off. It's cold, it's dark. Kids will be inside and use more energy/electricity/heating. There's more options in April when it's spring. So for me I would leave it as is."
