School Term And Holiday Dates

The Local Authority is required to set school term and holiday dates for Community and Voluntary Controlled schools. The governing bodies of Foundation and Voluntary Aided schools are responsible for setting their own dates. Usually all schools within the Borough operate the same term and holiday dates.

How school holiday dates are set

School term and holiday dates are usually set over 18 months in advance of the academic year. They are based on a school year of 195 days although individual schools can use 5 of these days for staff training. Parents should contact the individual school to find out when their training days will be.

From September 2009 all three Local Authorities in Dorset have agreed to adopt the "Standard School Year" which is set annually by the Local Government Association. This means that terms will be of a fixed length and will not be based around the date of Easter.

2008/09 School Year

Autumn Term

Monday 1 September to Friday 19 December 2008
Half Term: Monday 27 to Friday 31 October 2008

Spring Term

Monday 5 January to Friday 3 April 2009
Half Term: Monday 16 to Friday 20 February 2009

Summer Term

Monday 20 April to Monday 20 July 2009
Half Term: Monday 25 to Friday 29 May 2009

2009/10 School Year

Autumn Term

Thursday 3 September to Friday 18 December 2009
Half Term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2009

Spring Term

Monday 4 January to Thursday 1 April 2010
Half Term: Monday 15 to Friday 19 February 2010

Summer Term

Monday 19 April to Friday 23 July 2010
Half Term: Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2010

The dates above are the same for Bournemouth and Dorset local authorities.

2010/11 School Year

Autumn Term (Terms 1 and 2)

Wednesday 1 September to Friday 17 December 2010
Half Term: Monday 25 to Friday 29 October 2010

Spring Term (Terms 3 and 4)

Tuesday 4 January to Friday 8 April 2011
Half Term: Monday 21 to Friday 25 February 2011

Summer Term (Terms 5 and 6)

Tuesday 26 April to Friday 22 July 2011
Half Term: Monday 11 to Monday 25 April 2011