When will UAE schools close for summer holidays?

Parents in the UAE hoping to chart their plans for next academic year now have a definitive roadmap with the Ministry of Education having confirmed the 2026-2027 school calendar including that classes start on August 31, 2026.

Dubai private schools start summer break on 6 July 2026, according to the latest UAE academic calendar framework for students and families across the emirate. In 2026, the school year will officially start on August 31 and continue until July 2, 2027, establishing a structured cycle for academics.

The schedule, which is part of the overall calendar for 2026–2027 academic years, has been created to provide schools parents and pupils early knowledge of term times and holidays so that planning for both school life and family commitments can be easier.

Beginning of the academic year & the structure of the semester

With this new calendar, it means classrooms will not be back in session until August 31, 2026 with the extended summer break. The final day of the academic year is July 2, 2027, after a little fewer than 10 months of more structured learning with breaks scheduled during the school year.

The calendar, valid for public schools and private institutions following the national curriculum, the ministry said. This aims to keep a uniform structure throughout the education process, providing an equilibrium between instructional time with additional periods for revision and rest.

Mid-term break in October

On the other hand, the second mid-term break of that academic year is from 12 October to 19 October 2026. This weeklong delay follows the start of the school year, allowing students a pre–first term reset before resuming their academic workload.

This means mid-term breaks may be only partially in lockstep, since schools that do not follow the national curriculum - most notably private schools - if they choose, have a high degree of flexibility to split the break across October and February. But you can only do this for a maximum of five school days, per the ministry.

Winter break across schools

A winter break also starts on December 14, 2026 — a significant year-end reprieve for students. Schools will stay shut during the celebrations with lessons to recommence on January 4, 2027 Central to the break is a complete holiday window from late December to early January, which coincides with the seasonal school closures that occur throughout most of the UAE.

Spring break and end of year

A spring break is specifically through April 5–9, 2027 on the academic calendar. The mid-term break is in the closing weeks of the academic year, providing a long overdue pause for students before the last term that ends with exams and end-of-year assessments.

A structured framework for planning

The Ministry of Education stated that releasing the academic calendar in advance is aimed at ensuring the long-term plan for families and schools. The framework hopes to help schools become more operationally ready while enabling parents to plan holidays, childcare and academic schedules further in advance by clearly laying out term dates and any holidays.

The calendar will apply at large to the whole public school system, as well as private schools following the ministry's curriculum, while local education authorities may permit variations for institutions using other curricula if they remain in line with broader regulatory frameworks.