Quick answer: For most Greater London school calendars, the October 2026 autumn half-term runs from Monday, October 26, through Friday, October 30. The usual last scheduled school day is Friday, October 23, and the usual return date is Monday, November 2. There are two important exceptions: Bromley Council’s published calendar puts its two-week break on October 19–30, and six named Bexley primary schools also chose a two-week break starting October 19. Check the individual school’s calendar for its final pupil day, INSET training days, and any other closure before arranging childcare or travel. Information checked September 29, 2026.
In the UK, this school break is usually called the “autumn half-term”; people searching from the United States may call it a fall break. Greater London does not have one single school-holiday calendar. Local councils publish term-date frameworks, but individual schools can set or adjust dates depending on their legal category and governance. The steps below help you find the right October half-term dates for your child rather than relying on a citywide average.
The pattern published by many London councils is straightforward: schools are in session through Friday, October 23; pupils are off Monday, October 26, through Friday, October 30; and the next scheduled school day is Monday, November 2. October 24–25 and October 31–November 1 are weekends, so the weekday holiday itself is five school days.
| Calendar item | Common date | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Last scheduled day before half-term | Friday, October 23, 2026 | Some pupils may finish earlier if their school has an INSET day. |
| Autumn half-term | Monday, October 26–Friday, October 30 | Five weekdays off under the common London council pattern. |
| Return to school | Monday, November 2 | First scheduled day of the next autumn-term block. |
This pattern appears in the official 2026–27 calendars published by councils including Harrow, Hounslow, Islington, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Redbridge, and Enfield. These examples cover different parts of London; they do not establish a binding calendar for every school in every borough.
If you are new to London, begin with the home postcode rather than the school’s nearest station or neighborhood name. Use the official GOV.UK local-council finder to identify the council for your address. Then use that council’s school term dates or school holidays page. This avoids a common mistake: searching a nearby borough and applying its dates to a school on the other side of a boundary.
The UK Government’s school term and holiday dates service directs families to their local council and notes that dates vary. If you already know the borough, search for phrases such as “school term dates 2026 to 2027,” “October half-term 2026,” or “school holiday dates.” Prefer a council page or a linked council PDF over an old calendar image shared on social media.
Look for the 2026–27 academic year and the autumn term. Some calendars show one continuous term with a half-term week inserted in the middle; others show the teaching block before and after the break as separate lines. Find the Friday immediately before half-term, the Monday-to-Friday holiday range, and the following Monday. The term-date line can cover a wider period than the pupil’s actual attendance if the school has chosen a staff training day.
For example, a council table may show an autumn term ending in December and list “half term: October 26–30” within it. That does not mean pupils attend every weekday in October before December. Read the half-term row separately. Conversely, a two-week holiday will usually be shown as October 19–30, not as two separate weeks. Record the date range, not just the label “October half-term.”
Bromley: The council’s 2026/27 calendar lists autumn term dates from Wednesday, August 26, to Friday, October 16, followed by half-term from Monday, October 19, to Friday, October 30. Its next term block begins Monday, November 2. That makes Friday, October 16 the last scheduled term day under Bromley’s framework, a week earlier than the common London pattern. See Bromley’s 2026/27 term dates.
Bexley: The council’s page is specifically for maintained primary schools. It gives the general half-term as October 26–30, but names six schools that chose to take two weeks off, October 19–30: Birkbeck Primary, Crook Log Primary, Danson Primary, Dulverton Primary, Fosters Primary, and Longlands Primary. For those named schools, Friday, October 16 is the last scheduled pupil day before the two-week break, subject to any school-specific training day. The return under the council framework is Monday, November 2. Check the school’s own message to confirm its final day. The names and dates are on Bexley Council’s 2026–27 dates.
Those two examples show why “Greater London October half-term” is a useful starting search, not a date you should apply automatically. A difference of one week affects booked childcare, travel, and attendance, so verify your borough before making plans.
An INSET day is a staff training or development day when pupils do not attend. Council frameworks account for five staff-training days in the school year, but each school chooses when to use them. Wandsworth Council explains that its five days are set by the school’s governing body; Croydon tells families to check each school for its training dates; and Hounslow notes that academies, foundation schools, and voluntary-aided schools may set dates that differ from the council calendar.
Before treating Friday, October 23 as your child’s last day, open the school website and look for “term dates,” “INSET,” “training days,” “calendar,” or a September welcome letter. The school newsletter or parent portal may be more current than a council-wide PDF. If the school lists an INSET day on Friday, October 23, the last pupil day could be Thursday, October 22. If the school places training on Monday, November 2, the first day back for pupils could be Tuesday, November 3. These are examples of how a school-specific day can alter the practical dates; they are not announced dates for every school.
Some local calendars also allow occasional closures in addition to INSET days. Ealing Grid for Learning says its 2026/27 framework includes three occasional days for pupils and staff, selected by each governing body and potentially used to observe religious festivals. The council does not publish one October date that applies to every Ealing school. Ask the school whether it has selected an occasional day during the half-term period or around it.
No England-and-Wales bank holiday falls in October 2026. The official GOV.UK bank-holiday calendar lists August 31 as the summer bank holiday and then December 25 and December 28 as the next bank holidays in England and Wales. October 13, October 16, and October 23 are ordinary weekdays for the national bank-holiday calendar; they are not additional UK public holidays that create a London-wide school closure. The autumn half-term is a council or school-set break, not a bank holiday.
October 31, Halloween, falls on a Saturday in 2026. It does not extend the weekday school break, which ends on Friday, October 30 in the common pattern. For Bromley and the six Bexley schools named above, it falls at the end of their two-week break. If a school has separately announced a local closure, follow that notice rather than inferring one from Halloween or a bank-holiday list.
For most families in Greater London, the useful baseline is last scheduled school day Friday, October 23; half-term Monday, October 26–Friday, October 30; return Monday, November 2. Bromley and the six named Bexley primary schools are verified October exceptions, and school-specific INSET dates can still shift an individual child’s last day or return. Check the school directly before treating any council calendar as final.
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