Kent's half term is 26 to 30 October, but Canterbury Academy and Archbishop's are off from 19 October, Whitstable School from 21. Eleven schools compared.
Kent County Council publishes one set of term dates for the county, and in the Canterbury district a good number of schools do not follow it. Of the eleven local secondary and independent schools whose 2026/27 calendars we read this week, four take a different October half term from the county, two of them a full week earlier, and five end the autumn term on a different day from the county’s Friday 18 December. Every date here comes from the county’s or the school’s own published calendar.
The quick answer
Kent’s determined dates for 2026/27 run from Tuesday 1 September 2026 to Wednesday 21 July 2027, with the October half term on Monday 26 to Friday 30 October and the Christmas holiday from Monday 21 December to Friday 1 January. Locally, The Canterbury Academy and The Archbishop’s School are off from 19 to 30 October, The Whitstable School from 21 to 30 October, and Simon Langton Girls’ and Herne Bay High take two weeks, 26 October to 6 November. The independents finish for Christmas early: King’s and St Edmund’s on Friday 11 December, Kent College on Tuesday 15 December.
Kent County Council’s term dates 2026/27
Kent runs a six-term year. These are the dates the county has determined for the schools it maintains, from its term dates page, which also carries the calendar as a PDF. The council’s own caveat is that “term dates for some schools may be different”, and academies, grammars and independents set their own.
| Term | Starts | Ends | Holiday that follows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Tuesday 1 September 2026 | Friday 23 October 2026 | Monday 26 to Friday 30 October |
| Term 2 | Monday 2 November 2026 | Friday 18 December 2026 | Monday 21 December to Friday 1 January |
| Term 3 | Monday 4 January 2027 | Friday 12 February 2027 | Monday 15 to Friday 19 February |
| Term 4 | Monday 22 February 2027 | Thursday 25 March 2027 | Friday 26 March to Friday 9 April |
| Term 5 | Monday 12 April 2027 | Friday 28 May 2027 | Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June |
| Term 6 | Monday 7 June 2027 | Wednesday 21 July 2027 | Thursday 22 July to Tuesday 31 August |
The bank holidays inside the school year are Friday 25 December, Monday 28 December, Friday 1 January, Friday 26 March, Monday 29 March, Monday 3 May, Monday 31 May and Monday 30 August 2027.
School by school: where Canterbury’s dates differ
The table below covers the autumn and the start of the spring term, which is where the local differences fall. Dates are the first and last days pupils are in school. Several schools stagger the September start by year group, so the September column shows the day the whole school is in.
| School | All pupils back | October break | Last day before Christmas | Back in January |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent maintained schools | Tue 1 Sep | 26 to 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| Simon Langton Girls' Grammar | Thu 3 Sep | 26 Oct to 6 Nov (two weeks) | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys | Tue 1 Sep is a staff day; term runs 1 Sep to 23 Oct | 26 to 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan is a staff day; pupils Tue 5 Jan |
| Barton Court Grammar | Thu 3 Sep | 26 to 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| The Canterbury Academy | Wed 2 Sep | 19 to 30 Oct (two weeks) | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| The Archbishop's School | Thu 3 Sep | 19 to 30 Oct (two weeks) | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| The Whitstable School | Mon 7 Sep (Y7 and Y11 from Wed 2 Sep) | 21 to 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Tue 5 Jan |
| Herne Bay High | Wed 2 Sep | 26 Oct to 6 Nov (two weeks) | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| The King's School (senior) | 1 to 3 Sep | Fri 16 Oct to Mon 2 Nov | Fri 11 Dec | Tue 5 Jan (boarders Mon 4) |
| St Edmund's School | Thu 3 Sep | Sat 17 Oct to Sun 1 Nov | Fri 11 Dec | Tue 5 Jan |
| Kent College | Thu 3 Sep | not stated on the dates page | Tue 15 Dec | Tue 5 Jan |
Sources, all read on 25 September 2026: Simon Langton Girls’, Simon Langton Boys’ (The Langton) PDF, Barton Court Academy Trust, The Canterbury Academy, The Archbishop’s School, The Whitstable School PDF, Herne Bay High, The King’s School, St Edmund’s, Kent College.
What the differences mean in practice
- The October holiday is not one week for most of the district. Only the Langton Boys’, Barton Court and the county’s own schools keep to 26 to 30 October. Two Canterbury schools and the Whitstable School are already off in the week of 19 October, and two others run on into the first week of November. A family with children at, say, Herne Bay High and a Kent primary has one child off for two weeks and the other for one. Our October half term in Canterbury page sets out what is on in each of the three weeks.
- The independents finish a week before everyone else. King’s and St Edmund’s break up on 11 December and Kent College on 15 December, against 18 December at the state schools.
- January is not the same day everywhere. The Langton Boys’, the Whitstable School, King’s, St Edmund’s and Kent College all bring pupils back on Tuesday 5 January, because Monday 4 January is a staff training day or a boarders’ return day. Kent’s own calendar has children in on the Monday.
Staff training days already published
These are the days pupils are not in school although the county’s calendar counts them as school days.
- The Langton (Boys’): 1 September 2026, 4 January 2027, and 19, 20 and 21 July 2027.
- Barton Court Grammar: 1 and 2 September 2026, and 19 to 21 July 2027.
- The Whitstable School: 1 and 25 September 2026, 4 December 2026, 4 January 2027 and 26 July 2027.
- The Canterbury Academy: 1 September 2026.
- Simon Langton Girls’: 1 September 2026, with only Years 7 and 12 in on 2 September.
- St Edmund’s: 1 and 2 September 2026, 4 January 2027 and 12 April 2027.
Herne Bay High and The Archbishop’s School do not list training days on their dates pages.
Two things still to be confirmed
Spires Academy in Sturry has moved to a new website under Orion Education, and its term dates page said “This page is awaiting content” when we checked, so its 2026/27 calendar is not yet published online. Parents should use the school’s own communications. The Archbishop’s School says its 2027/28 dates “will be published shortly”. The county’s own 2027/28 calendar is already out.
If your child’s school is not listed, the county’s school search gives its website and phone number, and primary schools in the district generally publish their own calendars with the same six-term shape.
See also: Canterbury council tax bands 2026/27 and Canterbury Christmas bin collections.
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