Hertfordshire schools break for half term on 26 to 30 October 2026 and for Christmas from 21 December. Every 2026/27 holiday plus each big school's INSET days.
Hertfordshire’s state schools take October half term from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, break for Christmas from Monday 21 December to Friday 1 January, and finish the year on Thursday 22 July 2027. Those are the county’s dates. The catch for St Albans parents is that the big secondaries add their own closed days, and the city’s two large independents run a completely different calendar: half term for them is 18 October to 1 November, and they break for Christmas on 11 and 15 December.
The quick answer
- October half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 for Hertfordshire schools (School term dates, Hertfordshire County Council)
- Christmas holiday: Monday 21 December 2026 to Friday 1 January 2027, back on Monday 4 January (same source)
- Verulam, STAGS and Roundwood Park all close on Friday 27 November 2026 as an occasional day, so that is a four-day week to plan for (school calendars, linked below)
Hertfordshire’s dates for 2026/27 and 2027/28
The county sets the pattern for community and voluntary-controlled schools. Its page adds that these schools “must add 5 INSET days and 1 Occasional day” to the calendar, and that “academies, voluntary-aided, foundation and free schools aren’t required to follow the above term dates”. In practice nearly every St Albans and Harpenden secondary follows the county pattern and slots its INSET days around it, as the school table below shows.
| Holiday | 2026/27 | 2027/28 |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn term starts | 1 September 2026 | 1 September 2027 |
| October half term | 26 to 30 October 2026 | 25 to 29 October 2027 |
| Christmas | 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027 | 20 December 2027 to 3 January 2028 |
| February half term | 15 to 19 February 2027 | 14 to 18 February 2028 |
| Easter | 26 March to 9 April 2027 | 3 to 17 April 2028 |
| May half term | 31 May to 4 June 2027 | 29 May to 2 June 2028 |
| Summer holiday | 23 July to 31 August 2027 | 25 July to 1 September 2028 |
The Easter holiday in 2027 starts on Friday 26 March, which is Good Friday, and Easter Monday is 29 March. May Day is Monday 3 May 2027.
School by school: the days that differ
Each school publishes its own calendar. These are the 2026/27 dates as published on the schools’ own pages on 25 September 2026. INSET days are staff training days with no pupils in school.
| School | Autumn term | Half term | Breaks up for Christmas | Closed days in 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verulam School | Staff day 1 Sept; Years 7 and 12 in 2 Sept; all pupils 3 Sept | 26 to 30 October | Friday 18 December | Occasional day 27 Nov; INSET 4 Jan (pupils back 5 Jan), 12 Feb, 12 April |
| St Albans Girls' School (STAGS) | Term ends 23 October for half term | 26 to 30 October | Friday 18 December | Occasional day 27 Nov; staff training 11 and 12 Feb, 21 and 22 July; spring term ends Thursday 25 March; summer term ends Tuesday 20 July |
| Roundwood Park, Harpenden | INSET 1 Sept; Years 7 and 12 in 2 Sept; whole school 3 Sept | 26 to 30 October | Friday 18 December at 12.10pm | INSET 25 Sept, 11 and 12 Feb, 21 and 22 July; occasional day 27 Nov; spring term ends 25 March at 12.10pm; summer term ends 20 July at 12.10pm |
| Beaumont School | Follows the county pattern; full calendar is a PDF on the school's page | One change published: the INSET day planned for Tuesday 5 January 2027 has moved to Monday 22 February 2027 | ||
| Sandringham School | Alban Academies Trust calendar, published as a colour-coded PDF on the school's page | INSET and occasional days are marked on the PDF only; check it for the exact days | ||
| St Albans School (independent) | Staff INSET 3 Sept; term begins Monday 7 September | Sunday 18 October to Sunday 1 November | Tuesday 15 December at noon | Lent term begins Wednesday 6 Jan (INSET 4 Jan); half term 13 to 21 Feb; term ends 24 March; Trinity term 12 April to Wednesday 7 July at 12.30pm; INSET 28 May; half term 29 May to 6 June |
| St Albans High School for Girls (independent) | INSET 1 to 3 Sept; new pupils 4 Sept; term Monday 7 September | Sunday 18 October to Sunday 1 November | Friday 11 December | Lent term Wednesday 6 Jan to Wednesday 24 March (INSET 4 Jan, 11+ exams 5 Jan); half term 14 to 21 Feb; Trinity term 12 April to 7 July at noon; INSET 28 May; half term 30 May to 6 June |
Two things stand out. First, Friday 27 November 2026 is an occasional day at Verulam, STAGS and Roundwood Park, so many St Albans and Harpenden families have a four-day week that week, five days after the Christmas Cracker. Second, the independents’ October half term is two weeks wide and a week earlier than the state schools’, so a family with children at both has a stretch from 18 October to 1 November with at least one child at home.
Sir John Lawes School’s term dates page returned an error when we checked; we will add its dates when the page is back.
Primary schools
Most St Albans and Harpenden primaries are community or voluntary-controlled schools and follow the county dates above, adding five INSET days and the occasional day. Academies within the Alban Academies Trust and the Catholic and Church of England voluntary-aided schools can set their own, so check the school’s own calendar rather than assuming. The county’s advice is the same: “check with your specific school for their exact dates”.
What is still to be confirmed
- Sir John Lawes 2026/27 INSET days. The school’s page was not loading on 25 September; we will check again in October.
- Sandringham and Beaumont INSET days, which are marked on their PDF calendars rather than listed. We will transcribe them once the schools confirm the autumn dates.
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