Leicestershire half term is 19 to 23 October and Christmas runs 21 December to 1 January. Robert Smyth adds two INSET days on 26 and 27 October.
Schools in Market Harborough, Lutterworth and the district’s villages break for October half term on Friday 16 October 2026 and go back on Monday 26 October. The Christmas holiday runs from Monday 21 December to Friday 1 January, and the school year ends on Tuesday 6 July 2027 under Leicestershire County Council’s pattern.
That is the county’s calendar. The big secondaries here are academies and set their own, and three of them add days either side. The detail is in the table below.
The quick answer
- October half term: Monday 19 to Friday 23 October 2026 at every school below.
- Robert Smyth Academy pupils are off until Wednesday 28 October, because the academy has INSET days on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 October.
- Christmas: last day Friday 18 December, back Monday 4 January 2027, or Tuesday 5 January at Welland Park and Kibworth Mead.
Leicestershire County Council term dates 2026/27
Leicestershire runs an unusual pattern: the school year starts in the last full week of August and finishes in early July. It is the final year of the current five-year calendar, which the county published in 2021. (Leicestershire School Term Dates 2022 to 2027, Leicestershire County Council)
| Term | Schools open | Schools close | Holiday that follows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn 1 | Monday 24 August 2026 | Friday 16 October 2026 | Half term: 19 to 23 October |
| Autumn 2 | Monday 26 October 2026 | Friday 18 December 2026 | Christmas: 21 December to 1 January |
| Spring 1 | Monday 4 January 2027 | Friday 12 February 2027 | Half term: 15 to 19 February |
| Spring 2 | Monday 22 February 2027 | Friday 19 March 2027 | Easter: 22 March to 2 April |
| Summer 1 | Monday 5 April 2027 | Friday 28 May 2027 | Half term: 31 May to 4 June |
| Summer 2 | Monday 7 June 2027 | Tuesday 6 July 2027 | Summer holiday from Wednesday 7 July |
Bank holidays in term time are Monday 31 August 2026 and Monday 3 May 2027. The county’s PDF misprints the end of the first spring half as “Friday 12 February 2026”; the year is 2027.
INSET days are not in that table. The county’s note says each school sets its own five training days and that the local authority no longer sets them. Check your own school’s calendar before you book anything.
How the big local schools differ
These are the academies’ own published calendars, read on 25 September 2026. All four follow the county’s half terms. The differences are at the edges.
| School | October half term | Christmas | Last day of the year | INSET days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Smyth Academy, Market Harborough | 19 to 23 Oct, plus INSET Mon 26 and Tue 27 Oct | Ends Fri 18 Dec, back Mon 4 Jan | Fri 9 July 2027 | 24 Aug, 2 Oct, 26 Oct, 27 Oct, 29 Jan, 25 Jun |
| Welland Park Academy, Market Harborough | 19 to 23 Oct | Ends Fri 18 Dec, back Tue 5 Jan | Thu 8 July 2027 | 24 and 25 Aug, 4 Jan |
| Lutterworth College | 19 to 23 Oct | Ends Fri 18 Dec at 12.30pm, back Mon 4 Jan | Fri 9 July 2027, 12.30pm finish | 24 and 25 Aug, 20 Nov |
| Kibworth Mead Academy | INSET Fri 16 Oct, then 19 to 23 Oct | Ends Fri 18 Dec, back Tue 5 Jan | Fri 9 July 2027 | 24 and 25 Aug, 16 Oct, 4 Jan |
Sources: Robert Smyth Academy, Welland Park Academy, Lutterworth College, Kibworth Mead Academy.
Three things stand out.
- Robert Smyth’s October break is seven weekdays, not five. With INSET on 26 and 27 October, pupils return on Wednesday 28 October. If you have one child there and another at a primary on the county calendar, the primary goes back two days earlier.
- Kibworth Mead breaks up a day early, on Thursday 15 October, because Friday 16 October is a training day.
- Everyone finishes later than the county. The county’s year ends on Tuesday 6 July 2027. Welland Park runs to Thursday 8 July, and Robert Smyth, Lutterworth College and Kibworth Mead to Friday 9 July.
Robert Smyth’s page also says its INSET days are still to be confirmed, so treat the 2 October, 29 January and 25 June dates as provisional until the academy says otherwise. Lutterworth College lists three INSET days and Kibworth Mead says it may move its January training day to another date in the year.
Primary schools
Most primaries in the district follow the county calendar above, but academies and church schools can set their own. Your school’s website or the letter home in September is the answer for INSET days.
What happens next year
2026/27 is the last year of the current pattern. The county consulted from 20 April to 31 May 2026 on dates for autumn 2027 to summer 2032, and put one question to parents: keep Leicestershire’s historic late-August start, or move closer to the patterns used elsewhere in the region. Its consultation paper also says several secondary academies here already run different patterns, which causes childcare problems for families with children at more than one school. (Proposed school term and holiday dates, autumn 2027 to summer 2032, Leicestershire County Council)
We will add the confirmed 2027/28 dates here when the county adopts them.
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