Hertfordshire half term is 26 to 30 October and Christmas starts 21 December. Four big Welwyn and Hatfield secondaries also close on Friday 27 November.
Hertfordshire’s state schools take October half term from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, break for Christmas from Monday 21 December 2026 to Friday 1 January 2027, and go back on Monday 4 January. The detail that catches Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield parents out is the extra closed days. Every state secondary we checked shuts on Friday 27 November 2026, three of them close on Friday 23 October so half term starts a day early, and the two independents break up for Christmas on 9 and 11 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; most secondaries break up on Friday 18 December
- Friday 27 November 2026 is a closed day at Monk’s Walk, Stanborough, Onslow St Audrey’s and Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School, each from the school’s own calendar linked below
Hertfordshire’s dates for 2026/27 and 2027/28
The county sets the calendar for community and voluntary-controlled schools, which “must use the above term dates, adding 5 INSET days and 1 Occasional day where children don’t need to go to school”. Academies, voluntary-aided, foundation and free schools “aren’t required to follow” them. Every state secondary we checked in Welwyn Hatfield keeps the county’s holidays and only sets its own closed days.
| 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 county says future term dates “will be published by 31 January each year”, so the 2028/29 calendar is due by the end of January 2027.
School by school: the days that differ
These are the 2026/27 dates as published on each school’s own term dates page on 25 September 2026. INSET days are staff training days with no pupils in.
| School | Half term | Breaks up for Christmas | Closed days in 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monk's Walk School, Welwyn Garden City | 26 to 30 October | Friday 18 December, closes 12pm | INSET 1 Sept, 2 Oct, 23 Oct, 2 Nov; occasional day 27 Nov; closes 12.30pm on 1 Oct for open evening; summer term ends 20 July at 12pm |
| Stanborough School, Welwyn Garden City | 26 to 30 October | Friday 18 December | Staff day 1 Sept, INSET 2 Sept, 5 Oct; occasional day 27 Nov; INSET 26 Feb, 21 and 22 July; spring term ends Thursday 25 March |
| Onslow St Audrey's School, Hatfield | 26 to 30 October | Friday 18 December, 12.30pm finish | INSET 1 and 2 Sept, 9 Oct, 4 Jan (pupils back 5 Jan), 2 July; occasional day 27 Nov; summer term ends Wednesday 21 July |
| Bishop's Hatfield Girls' School | 26 to 30 October | Friday 18 December | INSET 1 Sept, 7 Oct, 23 Oct; academy day 2 Sept; occasional day 27 Nov; INSET 21 and 22 July, pupils finish Tuesday 20 July |
| Sherrardswood School, Welwyn (independent) | 19 to 30 October (two weeks) | Wednesday 9 December | Spring term 5 January to 24 March; summer term 13 April to Friday 9 July |
| Queenswood School, Brookmans Park (independent) | Friday 16 October, 4.30pm, to Sunday 1 November | Friday 11 December, 12.30pm | Spring term Tuesday 5 January to Wednesday 24 March; half term 12 to 21 February; summer term 20 April to Speech Day on Saturday 3 July |
Three things follow from that table.
- Friday 27 November is a four-day week for most secondary families. Monk’s Walk, Stanborough, Onslow St Audrey’s and Bishop’s Hatfield all use it as their occasional day. That is six days after the Welwyn Garden City Christmas lights event on 21 November.
- Half term starts on Friday 23 October at Monk’s Walk and Bishop’s Hatfield, both of which have an INSET day that Friday. Monk’s Walk also has one on Monday 2 November, so its pupils are off for ten days running.
- The independents finish Christmas term well before the state schools. Sherrardswood breaks up on Wednesday 9 December and Queenswood at 12.30pm on Friday 11 December, a week or more before the county schools on 18 December.
Primary schools
Most primaries in Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield are community or voluntary-controlled schools, so they follow the county holidays above and add their own five INSET days and one occasional day. Church and academy primaries can set their own. The county’s own advice is to check the school’s calendar for the exact closed days rather than assume them.
What is still to be confirmed
- Ridgeway Academy and Chancellor’s School did not publish a term dates page we could read on 25 September. We will add them when we have them from the schools.
- Queenswood’s February home weekend and end-of-term time are marked TBC on the school’s page.
- 2028/29 county dates, due by 31 January 2027.
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