Council schools in Richmond break 26 to 30 October and 21 December to 1 January. Orleans Park, Teddington and Hampton break from 19 October. Every date.

Richmond upon Thames sets one calendar for its community schools, and for 2026/27 the autumn half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 with the Christmas holiday running from Monday 21 December to Friday 1 January. The catch is that most of the borough’s secondary schools are academies, and several of the biggest take their October break a week earlier, from 19 to 30 October. The council-published dates are below, followed by eight schools whose own calendars differ.

The quick answer

  • Council calendar, October half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Orleans Park, Teddington School, Hampton School, Lady Eleanor Holles and St Paul’s break for two weeks from Monday 19 October instead.
  • Christmas: council schools finish Friday 18 December and return Monday 4 January 2027. Hampton and LEH finish at noon on Friday 11 December; Orleans Park and St Paul’s on Thursday 17 December.
  • February half term is the same everywhere: Monday 15 to Friday 19 February 2027. Easter runs from Friday 26 March to Friday 9 April 2027 for the council schools.

Council dates for community schools, 2026/27

School term dates for the borough are set by Achieving for Children, the company that runs children’s services for Richmond and Kingston, and published on its term dates page. The council’s own term dates page simply points there. These dates apply to community schools; academies, voluntary aided and foundation schools may set their own, and every school picks its own INSET days inside these terms.

Term Dates
Autumn term 2026, first half Thursday 3 September to Friday 23 October
October half term Monday 26 to Friday 30 October
Autumn term, second half Monday 2 November to Friday 18 December
Christmas holiday Monday 21 December to Friday 1 January
Spring term 2027, first half Monday 4 January to Friday 12 February
February half term Monday 15 to Friday 19 February
Spring term, second half Monday 22 February to Thursday 25 March
Easter holiday Friday 26 March to Friday 9 April
Summer term 2027, first half Monday 12 April to Friday 28 May (bank holiday Monday 3 May)
May half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June
Summer term, second half Monday 7 June to Friday 23 July

Good Friday is 26 March 2027 and Easter Monday 29 March, so the Easter holiday starts on Good Friday itself. The spring bank holiday is Monday 31 May, inside the May half term.

The 2027/28 dates are already out

Achieving for Children has published the following year too:

Term Dates
Autumn 2027 Thursday 2 September to Friday 22 October; Monday 1 November to Friday 17 December
Spring 2028 Tuesday 4 January to Friday 11 February; Monday 21 February to Friday 7 April
Summer 2028 Monday 24 April to Friday 26 May (bank holiday 1 May); Monday 5 June to Friday 21 July

School by school: where the big schools differ

Every secondary school below publishes its own calendar, and the differences are real: a family with children at Christ’s and Orleans Park gets two different half terms this October. Dates are from each school’s own site, checked on 25 September 2026.

School Autumn start (pupils) October half term Autumn ends Spring starts Summer ends
Council calendar Thu 3 Sep 26 to 30 Oct Fri 18 Dec Mon 4 Jan Fri 23 Jul
Orleans Park Mon 7 Sep (Y7, Y12); Tue 8 Sep all 19 to 30 Oct Thu 17 Dec Mon 4 Jan Tue 20 Jul
Teddington School Mon 7 Sep 19 to 30 Oct Fri 18 Dec Tue 5 Jan (INSET 4 Jan) Tue 20 Jul
Christ’s School Thu 3 Sep (Y7, Y12); Fri 4 Sep all 26 Oct to 2 Nov Fri 18 Dec Tue 5 Jan (INSET 4 Jan) Wed 21 Jul
Waldegrave Fri 4 Sep 26 Oct to 3 Nov see calendar see calendar see calendar
Turing House Thu 3 Sep (Y7, Y12); Fri 4 Sep all 26 to 30 Oct Fri 18 Dec Mon 4 Jan (INSET) Fri 16 Jul
Hampton School Mon 7 Sep 19 to 30 Oct Fri 11 Dec, noon Wed 6 Jan Wed 7 Jul, noon
Lady Eleanor Holles Mon 7 Sep 19 to 30 Oct Fri 11 Dec, noon Wed 6 Jan Wed 7 Jul, noon
St Paul’s School Fri 4 Sep 19 to 30 Oct Thu 17 Dec Thu 7 Jan Wed 7 Jul

Some of the detail behind the table:

  • Orleans Park has INSET days on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 September, then Years 7 and 12 only on Monday 7 September. Its winter holiday is 18 December to 1 January and its summer term ends on 20 July.
  • Teddington School (Bourne Education Trust) has staff INSET on 3 and 4 September, 4 January and 7 June. Pupils return on 2 November after half term, 5 January after Christmas and 22 February after the February break.
  • Christ’s School breaks on 26 October and returns on Tuesday 3 November. It closes for a Christmas shopping day on Friday 27 November, and has INSET days on 1 and 2 September, 4 January and 22 and 23 July.
  • Waldegrave publishes its year as a calendar PDF. Staff training on Tuesday 1 September, all pupils back on Friday 4 September; the October break runs 26 October to 3 November, with Year 11 in for mock exams on 2 and 3 November and everyone else back on Wednesday 4 November. There is a further training day on 19 July 2027.
  • Turing House has INSET on 1 and 2 September, 25 September, 26 November, 4 January and 3 March, with a borough-wide transition day pencilled for 5 July. Its summer term ends a week early, on 16 July.
  • Hampton School and Lady Eleanor Holles, the two big independents in Hampton, share a calendar: two-week October break from 19 October, a noon finish on Friday 11 December, and a summer term that ends at noon on Wednesday 7 July. Hampton’s spring term begins with admissions days on 4 and 5 January.
  • St Paul’s School in Barnes calls its holidays “remedy” and adds a day off on Monday 7 December, with the spring term not starting until Thursday 7 January.

Grey Court’s website could not be reached when we checked on 25 September. Its dates will be added once the site is back.

Half term, in one line

If your child is at a council-run primary, Christ’s, Waldegrave or Turing House, half term starts on Monday 26 October. If they are at Orleans Park, Teddington, Hampton, LEH or St Paul’s, it starts on Monday 19 October and lasts a fortnight. What is on locally that week is on our October half term page.

Related: October half term · Christmas bin collections · Christmas and New Year travel