London school holidays: full list of term dates and breaks, including October half term and Christmas

The exact date for October half term in every London borough
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

With the summer holidays slowly creeping up, attention is quickly switching to the new school year, and all the key dates in the upcoming 2022/2023 school year.

School dates in all 32 of London’s boroughs are officially released, giving pupils and parents alike an insight into the official term dates for the 2022/2023 school calendar.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Soon, pupils will have six weeks off in what is the longest, and most significant break in the school year, as pupils move up a year group.

The October half term is usually at the back end of October, around halloween, and is the first break in the school calendar.

It’s important for some parents and guardians to look ahead, so they can book holidays in advance, with all travel restrictions heavily reduced, October time is the perfect time to book a short break away.

When is it scheduled to take place? When will London schools break up in October and when are children expected to return to the classroom? Here is everything you need to know.

Barking and Dagenham - Friday, 21 October

Barnet - Friday, 21 October

Bexley - Friday, 21 October

Brent - Friday, 21 October

Bromley - Friday, 14 October

Camden - Friday, 21 October

Croydon - Friday, 21 October

Ealing - Friday, 21 October

Enfield - Friday, 21 October

Greenwich - Friday, 21 October

Hackney - Friday, 21 October

Hammersmith and Fulham - Friday, 21 October

Haringey - Friday, 21 October

Harrow - Friday, 21 October

Hillingdon - Friday, 21 October

Hounslow - Friday, 21 October

Islington - Friday, 21 October

Kensington and Chelsea - Friday, 21 October

Kingston upon Thames - Friday, 21 October

Lambeth - Friday, 21 October

Lewisham - Friday, 21 October

Merton - Friday, 21 October

Redbridge - Friday, 21 October

Richmond upon Thames - Friday, 21 October

Southwark - Friday, 21 October

Tower Hamlets - Friday, 21 October

Waltham Forest - Friday, 21 October

Wandsworth - Friday, 21 October

Westminster - Friday, 21 October

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If a school in your borough breaks up on Friday, 21 October, they will return to school on Monday, October 31.

For schools in Bromley, the return to school will be on Monday, 24 October.

When do schools in London break up for Christmas?

Schools in London are set to break up for Christmas on 16 December, and will return to the classroom on 9 January, 2023.

How long is the October half term?

A half term break is sort of in the name, as it signifies the half-way point through a term at school.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This therefore means that half-term breaks are only a week long, as opposed to the two weeks (or sometimes more) that pupils get for a full term break.

Full term breaks are at Christmas time, Easter, and then of course the long bumper six week break in the middle of the calendar year.

When is the next bank holiday in 2022?

Aside from term breaks and scheduled school holidays, another time where pupils get a day off here and there is through bank holidays.

The most recent bank holiday was at the start of the month, as a lot of people enjoyed an unorthodox four day weekend to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, as she celebrated a wonderful 70 years on the throne.

However, the next bank holiday in the UK is to take place in August, and pupils will already be off, therefore not in term time.

The date of the bank holiday in August is 29 August, 2022.