Gloucestershire's October half term is 26 to 30 October and Christmas starts 18 December. Pate's, Dean Close and the Cheltenham colleges keep their own dates.
Gloucestershire County Council sets one calendar for the schools it runs, and in Cheltenham that calendar is only half the story. Most of the big secondary schools are academies or independent schools, which set their own dates. Pate’s Grammar School follows the county’s holidays but finishes the year twelve days early. The three big independent schools send pupils home for the October holiday a week or more before everyone else. Dean Close’s October break runs to more than two weeks. This page gives the county’s dates for 2026/27, then compares four Cheltenham calendars, each taken from the school’s own published dates.
The quick answer
For council-run schools, 2026/27 runs from Tuesday 1 September 2026 to Wednesday 21 July 2027. The October half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, and the Christmas holiday starts after school on Friday 18 December, with pupils back on Monday 4 January 2027. Each school also takes up to five INSET days, so check your own school’s calendar. Pate’s pupils finish on Friday 9 July 2027. Cheltenham College and Cheltenham Ladies’ College start the October break on Friday 16 October.
Gloucestershire’s term dates for 2026/27
Gloucestershire runs a six-term year. These are the dates the county council has set for community and voluntary controlled schools (Gloucestershire County Council, term dates).
| Term | School opens | School closes | Days | Holiday that follows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Tuesday 1 September 2026 | Friday 23 October 2026 | 39 | Mon 26 to Fri 30 October |
| Term 2 | Monday 2 November 2026 | Friday 18 December 2026 | 35 | Mon 21 December to Fri 1 January |
| Term 3 | Monday 4 January 2027 | Friday 12 February 2027 | 30 | Mon 15 to Fri 19 February |
| Term 4 | Monday 22 February 2027 | Thursday 25 March 2027 | 24 | Fri 26 March to Fri 9 April |
| Term 5 | Monday 12 April 2027 | Friday 28 May 2027 | 34 | Mon 31 May to Fri 4 June |
| Term 6 | Monday 7 June 2027 | Wednesday 21 July 2027 | 33 | From Thu 22 July |
The six terms add up to 195 days. Pupils have to attend on 190 of them. Schools pick the other five as INSET or non-contact days, individually or together, so a school’s first and last days can differ from the table (county council PDF, 2026/27).
The county’s bank holiday list for the year gives Monday 28 December 2026 as the Boxing Day holiday, because 26 December falls on a Saturday. Easter is early: Good Friday is 26 March 2027, the day after Term 4 ends. One small error to ignore: the county’s printable PDF gives the New Year bank holiday as “1st January 2026”. The web page has the right date, Friday 1 January 2027.
Academies, foundation schools and voluntary aided schools set their own dates. Many still copy the county’s. Balcarras School in Charlton Kings publishes the same six terms as the county, with its INSET days marked on its own calendar (Balcarras School term dates 2026/27, PDF).
Four Cheltenham schools compared
These are the main breaks for four Cheltenham schools that publish their own dates, next to the county’s. The independent schools give times as well as dates. Where a school finishes at midday or early afternoon, the table uses that day as the last day of term.
| Break | Gloucestershire | Pate's Grammar | Cheltenham College | Cheltenham Ladies' College | Dean Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn term starts | Tue 1 Sep | Thu 3 Sep (Y7 and Y12 Wed 2 Sep) | Wed 2 Sep | Wed 9 Sep | Tue 8 Sep |
| Last day before October break | Fri 23 Oct | Thu 22 Oct | Fri 16 Oct, 11am | Fri 16 Oct, 1.15pm | Thu 22 Oct, 4pm |
| Back after October break | Mon 2 Nov | Mon 2 Nov | Mon 2 Nov | Mon 2 Nov | Mon 9 Nov |
| Last day before Christmas | Fri 18 Dec | Fri 18 Dec (early finish) | Fri 11 Dec, 11am | Fri 11 Dec, 1.15pm | Fri 18 Dec, 12 noon |
| Back in January | Mon 4 Jan | Tue 5 Jan | Wed 6 Jan | Wed 6 Jan | Tue 12 Jan |
| February half term | 15 to 19 Feb | 15 to 19 Feb | Fri 12 Feb, 11am to Sun 21 Feb | Fri 12 Feb, 1.15pm to Sun 21 Feb | Fri 12 Feb, 4pm to Sun 21 Feb |
| Last day before Easter | Thu 25 Mar | Wed 24 Mar | Wed 24 Mar | Wed 24 Mar | Thu 25 Mar |
| Back after Easter | Mon 12 Apr | Mon 12 Apr | Mon 19 Apr | Mon 19 Apr | Tue 20 Apr |
| May half term | 31 May to 4 Jun | Fri 28 May (INSET) to 4 Jun | Sat 29 May to Mon 7 Jun | Fri 28 May to Sun 6 Jun | Fri 28 May to Sun 6 Jun |
| Summer term ends | Wed 21 Jul | Fri 9 Jul (early finish) | Fri 2 Jul | Fri 9 Jul | Fri 2 Jul, 12 noon |
Sources: Pate’s Grammar School term dates 2026/27, PDF; Cheltenham College term dates; Cheltenham Ladies’ College term dates; Dean Close School term dates 2026/27, PDF.
What stands out
Pate’s finishes the year on 9 July. The grammar school’s calendar shows the summer holiday starting on Monday 12 July 2027, with an early finish on Friday 9 July. The county’s schools carry on until Wednesday 21 July. Families with one child at Pate’s and another at a primary school face about a week and a half of mismatched summer holiday.
Pate’s INSET days fall on Fridays and Mondays. Its calendar marks INSET days on Tuesday 1 September, Friday 23 October, Friday 27 November, Monday 30 November, Monday 4 January, Thursday 25 March and Friday 28 May. That makes long weekends at the end of November and at the start of the October break. It also marks early finishes on Tuesday 29 September, Friday 18 December, Tuesday 2 February and Friday 9 July.
Dean Close has a two-and-a-half week October break. Pupils leave at 4pm on Thursday 22 October and the second half of term starts on Monday 9 November. Boarders return at 6pm on Sunday 8 November. The school also has a staff INSET day on Friday 23 October.
The two colleges go a week before everyone else. Cheltenham College and Cheltenham Ladies’ College both start the October break on Friday 16 October and break up for Christmas on Friday 11 December. Both have weekend exeats too: Cheltenham College from 1pm on Friday 20 November to Sunday 22 November, and the Ladies’ College from 1.15pm on Friday 20 November to Sunday 22 November.
October half term and Christmas in Cheltenham
The county’s October half term runs from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November. For how the rail and bus timetables change over Christmas, see Cheltenham Christmas trains and buses. Bin rounds also change in the week before Christmas; our bin collection days page has the council’s revised dates.
Term time holidays and 2027/28
The county council says children should not be taken on holiday in term time, and that unavoidable absence needs the headteacher’s permission. The 2027/28 county dates are already published: term starts on Thursday 2 September 2027 and the October half term is Monday 25 to Friday 29 October 2027 (Gloucestershire County Council, term dates).
Still to confirm
INSET days for most state schools only appear on each school’s own calendar, and schools can add or move them during the year. We will check again in early December for any spring term changes.
Checked on 25 September 2026 against the county council’s published term dates and each school’s own calendar.
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