When do school holidays 2023 end? School term dates for New Year, when Easter 2023 school holidays take place

With Christmas 2022 and New Year 2023 celebrations all but finished, your attention may well be turning towards what the year ahead has in store - and when to book your next holidays.

For parents and pupils alike, the biggest questions may well concern when the school holidays end - and when the next ones begin. You may also be wondering when those all-important exam dates will happen this summer.

Children across the UK will be heading back to school in the first week of January - although dates may differ depending on where in the country you live. For example, Scotland’s school dates are likely to be slightly different as a result of the extra bank holiday that is celebrated in the country after Hogmanay.

After a half-term holiday in several weeks’ time, schools will next break up at Easter 2023 ahead of the summer term.

So when does the new 2023 school term start in your area - and when do schools next break up? Here’s everything you need to know.

When do schools go back?

For some kids, Monday (2 January) will be the last day of the school Christmas holidays.

In many parts of England, the New Year’s Day bank holiday is the last day off for students until half-term in February. However, some pupils may head back on Wednesday (3 January), or on Monday (9 January).

Wales has slightly later term start dates, with most kids heading back on Friday (6 January) or Monday (9 January).

In Scotland, start dates also tend to be later than in England. Pupils will head back between Thursday (5 January) and Tuesday (10 January).

Meanwhile, students in Northern Ireland will head back to their studies on Tuesday (3 January).

Dates may be different depending on which council area you live in. To check what school term dates are, use this government portal where you will be asked to put in your postcode.

Scottish dates can be found through this government portal, while most Northern Irish schools follow the dates listed on the devolved administration’s website. Not all of these dates may tally with your school, so be sure to check directly with them to find out when term starts and finishes.

When are the next school holidays 2023?

While it’s unlikely most children (and even teachers) will be champing at the bit to head back to school for another term, there is some holiday on the horizon to look forward to.

January always feels like a long month, but a half-term is coming in mid-to-late February. For most schools in England, it falls over the week of Monday 20 February (although some may start a week earlier).

It’s a similar story for Wales, while students in Scotland and Northern Ireland tend to get only a few days off rather than a full week.

Almost all schools across the UK break up for the Easter holidays on or just before 31 March, and head back on 17 April. In Northern Ireland, schools break up slightly later on Maundy Thursday (6 April).