A Year in the UK

The UK School Year

The basic outline of the school year will be the same throughout the UK, although details will vary from school to school and region to region. Throughout the year, secondary level pupils may be involved in subject based field trips especially for geography, modern languages or sport, as well as year group trips, particularly for younger students. Primary pupils may take part in outings to museums, actvity centres etc in their year groups.

The timing of school holidays varies considerably in different parts of the UK.

Sept	Beginning of the school year (around 4 September in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; mid August in Scotland). INSET for teachers (about 4 days spread throughout the year).
Oct	Half-term holiday end of October. Baseline assessment of 4-5 year olds.
Nov	Mock exams for GCSE, AS and A level students (16, 17 & 18 year olds); or Standard & Higher Exams in Scotland (16 & 17). In January in some schools. University application process begins. Secondary school open evenings for primary pupils; parents & pupils select the secondary schools they wish to attend.
Dec	Nativity (or other seasonal) play (primary schools). End of term concert / pantomime etc (in many, but not every school). Christmas bazaar. End of term (around 20 December).
Jan	Start of new term (around 6 January).
Feb	One week half term holiday towards the end of the month.
March	Two week spring holidays. The timing varies to coincide with Easter, varying from end of March to end of April. Preparation of course work for GCSE exams, etc.
April	Start of final term. School play (varies from school to school, sometimes in May or December).
May	KS1, KS2 and KS3 Standard Assessment Tests for Years 2, 6 and 9. Parents’ evening, to discuss pupils’ progress (timing of this varies depending on year group, eg Year 7 may be earlier in the academic year, to discuss how pupils are handling the transition to secondary school and Year 11 in January to discuss career/A level choices). Half term holiday end of May. Study leave for GCSE, AS and A level students; exams begin.
June	GCSE, AS and A level exams: these students may not return to school until September. End of year exams for other secondary school pupils. Sports days / Swimming galas. Work experience for Year 9, 10 or 11 (varies from school to school, in some schools takes place in autumn). End of academic year at the end of June (Scotland, Northern Ireland).
July	Work experience (as above). Activity weeks / multicultural weeks. End of academic year around 24 July (England, Wales).
August	Summer holidays: students and most staff do not come to school. Scottish Standard and Higher results published early August. GCSE, AS and A level results published at the end of August.