Dorset Council's half term is 26 to 30 October 2026, but Thomas Hardye pupils finish on 20 October and Bryanston on 16 October. Every term and INSET day.
Dorset Council’s school year for 2026/27 starts on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and ends on Wednesday 21 July 2027. The October half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, the Christmas holiday runs from Monday 21 December to Friday 1 January, and schools go back on Monday 4 January 2027.
Those dates bind the schools the council maintains. Most secondary schools in the Dorset Council area are academies, and each takes its five staff training days on dates of its own choosing, so the real dates differ school by school. The Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester puts three INSET days in front of the October break, so its pupils are off from Wednesday 21 October. Bryanston, the independent school at Blandford, takes a fortnight from 16 October. This page gives the council’s calendar for 2026/27 and 2027/28, then the schools whose own published calendars we checked.
The quick answer
- October half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 at Dorset Council schools, The Gryphon School and The Blandford School. Thomas Hardye pupils finish on Tuesday 20 October because 21, 22 and 23 October are INSET days. Bryanston is off from 16 October to 1 November.
- Christmas: schools close on Friday 18 December 2026 and reopen on Monday 4 January 2027. Thomas Hardye and The Gryphon send pupils home a day early, on Thursday 17 December, and both, with The Blandford School, use Monday 4 January as an INSET day, so their pupils return on Tuesday 5 January.
- Summer term ends Wednesday 21 July 2027.
Dorset Council’s dates for 2026/27
These are the dates in Dorset Council’s published 2026 to 2027 calendar, which the council describes as the programme for county and controlled schools. Its own note reads: “The pattern of school terms and holidays will vary slightly from school to school since 5 of the 195 days are to be used for staff development.”
| Term | Starts | Ends | School days | Holiday that follows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn 1 | Tuesday 1 September 2026 | Friday 23 October 2026 | 39 | Mon 26 to Fri 30 October |
| Autumn 2 | Monday 2 November 2026 | Friday 18 December 2026 | 35 | Mon 21 December to Fri 1 January |
| Spring 1 | Monday 4 January 2027 | Friday 12 February 2027 | 30 | Mon 15 to Fri 19 February |
| Spring 2 | Monday 22 February 2027 | Thursday 25 March 2027 | 24 | Fri 26 March to Fri 9 April |
| Summer 1 | Monday 12 April 2027 | Friday 28 May 2027 | 34 | Mon 31 May to Fri 4 June |
| Summer 2 | Monday 7 June 2027 | Wednesday 21 July 2027 | 33 | Summer holiday from Thu 22 July |
The six blocks add up to 195 days. Pupils attend for 190 of them. The bank holidays inside the year are Good Friday on 26 March 2027, Easter Monday on 29 March, May Day on 3 May and the Spring bank holiday on 31 May, all of which already fall inside the holidays above.
School by school
We read each school’s own calendar on 25 September 2026. Every difference from the council’s dates is listed.
| School | First day for pupils | October break | Last day before Christmas | Back in January | INSET days still to come |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorset Council calendar | Tue 1 Sept | 26 to 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan | Set by each school |
| The Thomas Hardye School, Dorchester | Thu 3 Sept (Years 9 and 12), Fri 4 Sept (Years 10, 11, 13) | Wed 21 Oct to Fri 30 Oct | Thu 17 Dec | Tue 5 Jan | 21, 22, 23 Oct; 18 Dec; 4 Jan; 12 Apr; 30 Apr |
| The Gryphon School, Sherborne | Thu 3 Sept (Years 7 and 12), Fri 4 Sept (all) | Fri 23 Oct to Fri 30 Oct | Thu 17 Dec, 2pm finish | Mon 4 Jan | 23 Oct; 18 Dec; 22 Feb; 12 Apr; 28 Jun |
| The Blandford School | Fri 4 Sept (Years 7 and 12), Mon 7 Sept (all) | 26 to 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Tue 5 Jan | 4 Jan |
| Bryanston (independent) | Mon 7 Sept | Fri 16 Oct to Sun 1 Nov | Fri 11 Dec, 1.15pm | Tue 5 Jan | Not applicable |
The Thomas Hardye School publishes its dates as a single PDF. The October break is the one to note: Tuesday 20 October is the last day of half term for students, then Wednesday 21, Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October are all INSET days, so pupils have the best part of a fortnight off before everyone returns on Monday 2 November. The autumn term ends for students on Thursday 17 December, with Friday 18 December an INSET day. Spring term opens with an INSET day on Monday 4 January, so students return on Tuesday 5 January. The spring half term is 15 to 19 February, the Easter holiday runs from Friday 26 March to Friday 9 April, and the summer term opens with an INSET day on Monday 12 April and has a further one on Friday 30 April. Term ends on Wednesday 21 July.
The Gryphon School in Sherborne lists seven INSET days on its term dates page: 1 and 2 September, 23 October, 18 December, 22 February, 12 April and 28 June. Its pupils finish for Christmas at 2pm on Thursday 17 December and go back on Monday 4 January. The summer term starts on Tuesday 13 April after the INSET day, and ends at 2pm on Wednesday 21 July.
The Blandford School front-loads its training days, according to its term dates page: 1, 2 and 3 September are INSET, Years 7 and 12 start on Friday 4 September and everyone is in from Monday 7 September. Its half terms match the council’s. The last day before Christmas is Friday 18 December, Monday 4 January is INSET, and term ends on 21 July.
Bryanston publishes a boarding-school calendar on its term dates page, with exeat weekends on 25 to 27 September and 20 to 22 November, a half term from 16 October to 1 November, and an end of term at 1.15pm on Friday 11 December, a full week before the state schools. The spring term runs from Tuesday 5 January to Thursday 25 March with half term from 12 to 21 February, and the summer term from Monday 19 April to Saturday 3 July.
Budmouth Academy in Weymouth publishes its 2026/27 dates only as a colour-coded calendar PDF in which the INSET days are shaded rather than written. We could not read the shading reliably, so its dates are not tabulated here. Sherborne School’s term dates page would not load without a browser. Check both directly before booking anything.
Dorset Council’s dates for 2027/28
The council has also published its 2027 to 2028 calendar. The year starts on Wednesday 1 September 2027 and ends on Friday 21 July 2028.
| Term | Starts | Ends | Holiday that follows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn 1 | Wednesday 1 September 2027 | Friday 22 October 2027 | Mon 25 to Fri 29 October |
| Autumn 2 | Monday 1 November 2027 | Friday 17 December 2027 | Mon 20 December to Mon 3 January |
| Spring 1 | Tuesday 4 January 2028 | Friday 11 February 2028 | Mon 14 to Fri 18 February |
| Spring 2 | Monday 21 February 2028 | Friday 31 March 2028 | Mon 3 to Mon 17 April |
| Summer 1 | Tuesday 18 April 2028 | Friday 26 May 2028 | Mon 29 May to Fri 2 June |
| Summer 2 | Monday 5 June 2028 | Friday 21 July 2028 | Summer holiday |
Easter is late in 2028: Good Friday is 14 April and Easter Monday 17 April, which is why the spring term runs to the end of March and the summer term does not start until 18 April.
Planning around the dates
The October week is the one that catches families out, because the schools split three ways: the council week of 26 to 30 October, Thomas Hardye’s longer break from 21 October, and Bryanston’s fortnight from 16 October. Our October half term page lists what is open locally in each of those weeks and what it costs.
Christmas is simpler. Every school we checked closes on 17 or 18 December and none reopens before 4 January. For what else changes over that fortnight, see our pages on Christmas bin collections and Christmas and New Year travel.
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