School Holidays: Northumberland Term Dates 2025-2027

Planning family holidays, booking childcare, or just trying to remember when half term starts? Here are the official Northumberland County Council school term dates for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 academic years, along with what Alnwick parents need to know about INSET days and academy variations.

How Northumberland Term Dates Work

Northumberland County Council sets the school calendar for all community and voluntary-controlled schools in the county. The academic year runs from September to July, with 190 teaching days and five INSET (teacher training) days built in.

Alnwick schools follow Northumberland County Council dates. This is worth noting if you have family or friends with children in Newcastle or North Tyneside, which each set their own calendars with slightly different dates.

Best for: Alnwick schools follow Northumberland County Council term dates, not Newcastle. Always check your individual school's website for confirmed INSET days.

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2025-2026 Term Dates

These dates are confirmed by Northumberland County Council.

Key dates for 2025-2026

• Autumn term: Monday 1 September 2025 to Friday 19 December 2025 (with one-week half term in late October)
• Spring term: Monday 5 January 2026 to Thursday 2 April 2026 (with one-week half term in mid-February)
• Summer term: Monday 20 April 2026 to Friday 17 July 2026 (with one-week half term in late May)

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2026-2027 Term Dates

These dates are set by Northumberland County Council for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Key dates for 2026-2027

• Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September 2026 to Friday 18 December 2026 (with one-week half term in late October)
• Spring term: Monday 4 January 2027 to Thursday 25 March 2027 (with one-week half term in mid-February)
• Summer term: Monday 12 April 2027 to Friday 16 July 2027 (with one-week half term in late May)

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INSET Days and Teacher Training Days

Every school in Northumberland has five INSET days (also called teacher training days or staff development days) per year. On these days, schools are closed to pupils but staff are in for training.

Northumberland County Council publishes recommended INSET day dates, but individual schools can move them. This means two schools in the same town may have different INSET days. In Alnwick, the main schools are now part of the Pele Trust academy chain, which means The Duchess's Community High School and Swansfield Park Primary School tend to align their INSET days. However, other schools such as St Michael's Church of England Primary School may choose different dates.

The council typically places INSET days at the start of the autumn term (often the first day back in September) and at the start of other terms. Your school will confirm exact dates on its website or via letter.

Best for: INSET days vary by school. Pele Trust schools in Alnwick usually coordinate theirs, but always check your school's own calendar for confirmed dates.

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Do All Alnwick Schools Follow These Dates?

Not necessarily. The dates above apply to community and voluntary-controlled schools maintained by Northumberland County Council.

Academies — including those in the Pele Trust — are legally free to set their own term dates. In practice, most Northumberland academies follow the county council calendar closely, but they may vary by a day or two, particularly around INSET days or the start of term.

Foundation Trust and Voluntary Aided schools (typically church schools) can also set their own calendars, though again most align with the county dates.

The safest approach is to check your school's website directly. Key Alnwick schools to check include:

• The Duchess's Community High School — high school (Year 9-13), the main secondary school for the Alnwick partnership
• Swansfield Park Primary School — primary school (Reception-Year 6), one of Alnwick's largest primaries
• St Michael's Church of England Primary School — primary school (Reception-Year 6), a faith school in the heart of town
• Lindisfarne Middle School — middle school (Year 5-8), serving the wider Alnwick partnership area
• Hipsburn Primary School — primary school (Reception-Year 4) in nearby Lesbury

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Planning Family Holidays

Term-time absence is heavily discouraged and head teachers can only authorise it in exceptional circumstances. Unauthorised absences of five or more days can result in a fixed penalty notice of £160 per parent, per child (reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days).

If you are planning a family holiday, the cheapest weeks to travel during Northumberland school holidays are usually:

• October half term — one week in late October
• February half term — one week in mid-February (often cheaper than Easter or summer)
• May half term — one week in late May or early June

Easter and the six-week summer holiday (mid-July to early September) remain the most expensive periods for travel. On the plus side, living in Alnwick means you have the Northumberland coast and countryside on your doorstep for affordable half-term days out without needing to travel far.

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Official Sources

For the most up-to-date and confirmed term dates, visit the Northumberland County Council school term and holiday dates page. You can download the official PDF calendars for each academic year directly from the council's website.

For information about Alnwick's schools more broadly, see our complete guide to schools in Alnwick.