Gloucestershire's half term is 26 to 30 October and Christmas runs 21 December to 1 January. Where Stroud High, Rednock, Archway and Wycliffe differ.

Gloucestershire County Council sets one calendar for the schools it runs, and in the Stroud district most state secondaries keep its holidays and move only their training days. The independent schools are a different matter: both of the two we checked start the October break a week early, on Friday 16 October. This page sets out the county’s 2026/27 dates, then school by school, the days your child is actually at home.

The quick answer

  • October half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, back on Monday 2 November.
  • Christmas holiday: Monday 21 December 2026 to Friday 1 January 2027, back on Monday 4 January.
  • Summer term ends on Wednesday 21 July 2027. Stroud High, Rednock and Archway add training days of their own, and Wycliffe and Beaudesert Park break up for October on 16 October.

Gloucestershire’s term dates for 2026/27

These are the dates the county has set for community and voluntary controlled schools. It says schools may take up to five training (INSET) days within them, “so the date on which term ends, or starts, for pupils at different schools may change”, and tells parents to check with their own school. (Gloucestershire County Council, term dates)

Term Opens 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 Summer holiday

The year adds up to 195 days. The bank holidays inside it are Christmas Day (Friday 25 December), the Boxing Day holiday on Monday 28 December, New Year’s Day (Friday 1 January), Good Friday (26 March), Easter Monday (29 March), and Mondays 3 May and 31 May.

Easter is early in 2027, so term 4 finishes on a Thursday and the Easter holiday runs for two weeks straight after it.

Stroud’s schools, compared

We read each school’s own published calendar on 25 September 2026. Where a school says nothing different from the county, it follows the county.

School Back after October Last day before Christmas Back in January Summer term ends
Gloucestershire (county) Mon 2 November Fri 18 December Mon 4 January Wed 21 July
Marling School Mon 2 November Fri 18 December Mon 4 January Wed 21 July
Stroud High School Tue 3 November (2 Nov is INSET) Fri 18 December Mon 4 January Fri 16 July (19 to 21 July are INSET)
Archway School Mon 2 November Fri 18 December Mon 4 January Wed 21 July
Rednock School, Dursley Mon 2 November Fri 18 December (closes 12.45pm) Tue 5 January (4 Jan is INSET) Wed 21 July (closes 12.45pm)
Wycliffe College senior school Mon 2 November (break starts Fri 16 Oct) Wed 16 December Tue 5 January Sat 3 July
Beaudesert Park School Thu 29 October (break starts Fri 16 Oct) Fri 11 December (12.30pm) Wed 6 January Sat 10 July

School by school: the training days

Marling School. Its 2026/27 calendar uses exactly the county’s six terms, 195 days in total. Training days are shown only as colour-coded squares on the calendar grid, so check the PDF itself for them. (Marling School, term dates 2026-27)

Stroud High School. “We follow Gloucestershire County Council term dates, with our own INSET days”, the school says. Those are Tuesday 1, Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 September, Monday 2 November, Friday 4 December, Tuesday 9 March, Wednesday 16 June, and Monday 19 to Wednesday 21 July. The last three are listed as “disaggregated” training days, which means students finish the year on Friday 16 July. (Stroud High School, term and holiday dates 2026-2027)

Archway School. Same terms as the county. Training days fall on Tuesday 1 September, Friday 2 and Monday 5 October, and Thursday 26 and Friday 27 November. Year 7 and Year 12 started on 2 September and the other years on 3 September. (Archway School, term dates 2026-27)

Rednock School, Dursley. Term 1 ends for students on Thursday 22 October, because Friday 23 October is a training day. There are two more on Friday 27 and Monday 30 November, and another on Monday 4 January, so Rednock students go back on Tuesday 5 January. The school closes at 12.45pm on the last day before Christmas and on 21 July. (Rednock School, term dates 2026-2027)

Wycliffe College, Stonehouse. The senior school sets its own year. Half term runs from the end of the school day on Friday 16 October to Sunday 1 November, two weeks rather than one. The autumn term ends on Wednesday 16 December, spring term runs from Tuesday 5 January to Thursday 25 March, and summer term from Tuesday 20 April to speech day on Saturday 3 July. February half term is Friday 12 to Sunday 21 February, and May half term Friday 28 May to Sunday 6 June. (Wycliffe College, senior school term dates 2026/27)

Beaudesert Park School, Minchinhampton. Half term begins at 3.30pm on Friday 16 October and school restarts on Thursday 29 October. The autumn term ends at 12.30pm on Friday 11 December, a week ahead of the state schools. Spring term starts on Wednesday 6 January and ends on Thursday 25 March. Summer term runs from Tuesday 20 April to prizegiving on Saturday 10 July, with no school on Saturday 8 May for the Badminton Horse Trials. (Beaudesert Park School, future term dates)

What this means for the October week

Families with children at both a state school and Wycliffe or Beaudesert Park will have someone at home from 16 October. For everyone else, the district’s busy week is 26 to 30 October. The Rotary Five Valleys fireworks are on its Monday and the Stroud Half Marathon on the Sunday before. Both are on our fireworks page and our half marathon page, and what else is on that week is in our October half term page.

Still to confirm

  • 2027/28 dates. The county has already published them: term 1 runs from Thursday 2 September to Friday 22 October 2027. Rednock has posted a draft 2027/28 calendar. We will add both when schools confirm their own training days.
  • Primary schools. Most follow the county, but academy trusts can move training days. Check your child’s school website.

Sources