Dorset school holidays 2026/27
Read from Dorset council's own term-dates page, last on 5 September 2026. The source is here, so you can check every date below against it. They cover the 176 schools in Dorset, though academies and independent schools can set their own; the finder on the home page shows what we hold for a particular school.
How Dorset differs
- The May half term in Dorset starts 3 days later and runs 3 days shorter than in most of England.
That matters for flights: a break that starts a day earlier or runs a week longer puts different days on the table, and the day you leave is often worth hundreds.
The dates
| Holiday | First day off | Last day off | Can fly | Versus most of England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October half term | Sat 24 Oct | Sun 1 Nov | Sat 24 Oct – Sun 1 Nov | Same |
| Christmas holidays | Sat 19 Dec | Sun 3 Jan | Sat 19 Dec – Sun 3 Jan | Same |
| February half term | Sat 13 Feb | Sun 21 Feb | Sat 13 Feb – Sun 21 Feb | Same |
| Easter holidays | Fri 26 Mar | Sun 11 Apr | Fri 26 Mar – Sun 11 Apr | Same |
| May half term | Tue 1 Jun | Sun 6 Jun | Sat 29 May – Sun 6 Jun | 3d later, 3d shorter |
| Summer holidays | Thu 22 Jul | Tue 31 Aug | Thu 22 Jul – Tue 31 Aug | Same |
“Can fly” adds the weekend either side where nobody is in school. The weekday and the Sunday are usually the cheapest days of the break to leave on.
Flights for these dates
Families in Dorset mostly fly from Bristol (44 miles) and Cardiff (62 miles). We price the same trip across every day of each break above, from each of them, to 48 places families actually book, and email you when a fare is worth a look.
Find your school and see the prices
Schools in Dorset
176 schools use these dates unless they set their own, including Harbour School Dorset, Beaminster School in Beaminster, Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School in Blandford Forum. Type any of them into the finder for its own calendar.