How we compile term dates

There is no national database of school term dates. Each of the UK's local authorities sets its own calendar and publishes it on its own website, in its own format, sometimes only as a PDF. This site exists to collect those calendars into one place and one format.

Where the dates come from

Every date on this site traces to a council's own published term calendar. We fetch the council's page, record exactly what it states, and link to it from the page you read. Nothing is estimated or carried over from a previous year. If a council hasn't published a year yet, that year doesn't appear here.

Exam dates (results days, the summer exam series) come from JCQ, the body that coordinates the exam boards. Clearing dates come from UCAS. Each is linked from the page that uses it, and we distinguish confirmed dates from expected ones based on the published pattern. We cover 204 councils, which is every UK local authority that publishes term dates. The two exceptions have their own pages explaining why: Blackpool, where each school sets its own dates, and the Isles of Scilly, whose council last published a calendar in 2017/18. Where a council's published dates contradict themselves, we hold that year rather than guess, and say so.

What we add on top

Councils publish term dates in wildly different shapes: some list holidays, some list terms, some list "closing date and date re-opens" pairs. We convert them all to the same structure (terms, half terms and the holidays between them) and count the school days in each term. Where a council's format doesn't map cleanly, we keep its original wording in the notes on that council's page rather than silently reinterpreting it.

The honest caveats

Council calendars apply to community and voluntary-controlled schools. Academies, free schools, foundation schools and private schools can set their own dates. Most follow their council anyway, but not all, and every school chooses its own inset days on top. The rule we'd give any parent: use this site to plan, and confirm with the school before spending money you can't get back.

When we check

Every council page shows the date we last checked it against the council's source. We recheck all councils when the new academic year's dates are published, and again before each term starts. Councils do occasionally amend published dates mid-year; if you spot a difference between our page and a council's, the council is right and we want to know: email hello@uktermdates.co.uk.

Who runs this

This is an independent site. It is not affiliated with any council, school, exam board or government body, and no council has endorsed it. It makes no claim to educational expertise: the value is accuracy and sourcing, and both are checkable on every page.