Surrey schools in Staines, Ashford and Sunbury break 19 to 30 October 2026, but St Paul's goes back on 2 November. Every local secondary's dates and INSET days.
This year’s October half term in Staines-upon-Thames, Ashford, Sunbury, Shepperton and Stanwell is two weeks long. Surrey County Council has moved its schools to a Monday 19 to Friday 30 October 2026 break, paid for by a later end to the summer term in 2027. Almost every secondary in Spelthorne follows it. The exception is St Paul’s Catholic College in Sunbury, which takes just over one week.
The quick answer
- October half term: Monday 19 to Friday 30 October 2026 at Surrey county dates, back on Monday 2 November.
- Christmas: term ends Friday 18 December 2026, back on Monday 4 January 2027. Halliford and St James Senior Boys finish a week earlier, on 11 December.
- Summer 2027 varies by nearly three weeks, from 7 July (St James) to 28 July (county dates).
Surrey County Council term dates 2026/27
These are the dates for Surrey’s community and voluntary controlled schools. Academies and voluntary aided schools set their own, and most in Spelthorne follow the county closely (Surrey County Council).
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn 2026 | Tue 1 Sep 2026 | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct 2026 | Fri 18 Dec 2026 |
| Spring 2027 | Mon 4 Jan 2027 | Mon 15 to Fri 19 Feb 2027 | Thu 25 Mar 2027 |
| Summer 2027 | Mon 12 Apr 2027 | Mon 31 May to Fri 4 Jun 2027 | Wed 28 Jul 2027 |
The county’s dates leave out INSET days, which each school sets for itself, so your school’s own calendar can add a day off either side of these.
The two-week autumn break is a one-year change. For 2027/28 Surrey goes back to a one-week October half term, Monday 25 to Friday 29 October 2027, and the autumn term ends on Tuesday 21 December 2027.
Spelthorne secondary schools, school by school
We read each school’s own published calendar on 25 September 2026.
| School | October half term | Last day before Christmas | Summer term ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Arnold, Staines | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Tue 20 Jul 2027 |
| Thomas Knyvett College, Ashford | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | See note below | Fri 23 Jul 2027 |
| Sunbury Manor | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Thu 22 Jul 2027 |
| Bishop Wand, Sunbury | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Fri 16 Jul 2027 |
| St Paul's Catholic College, Sunbury | Fri 23 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Fri 16 Jul 2027 |
| Thamesmead, Shepperton | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Fri 16 Jul 2027 |
| Halliford (independent), Shepperton | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 11 Dec (12 noon) | Fri 9 Jul 2027 (12 noon) |
| St James Senior Boys (independent), Ashford | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 11 Dec | Wed 7 Jul 2027 |
What the table means in practice:
- St Paul’s Catholic College is the one that breaks from the county in October. Its half term runs Friday 23 to Friday 30 October, so pupils are in school on 19 to 22 October. Its five INSET days are 1 and 2 September, 25 September, Friday 11 December and Monday 22 February, so pupils go back after February half term on Tuesday 23 February.- Thomas Knyvett College lists its autumn term as ending “Friday 19 December 2026”. 19 December is a Saturday, and the college’s Christmas break starts on Monday 21 December, so the last day is almost certainly Friday 18 December. Its INSET days are 1 and 2 September, 4 January, 3 February and Friday 25 June.
- Thamesmead has INSET days on 1 September, Friday 9 October, 4 January and Monday 7 June 2027, when Year 10 and Year 11 may still have to come in for GCSE exams.
- Bishop Wand has INSET days on 1 September, Friday 2 October, 4 January and 12 April.
- Matthew Arnold started pupils on 7 September after INSET days on 3 and 4 September. It also has INSET on 4 January and Friday 25 June.
- Sunbury Manor puts four of its INSET days at the very end of the year, 23 to 28 July 2027, which is how it finishes pupils on 22 July while staff work to the county’s date.
- Halliford and St James Senior Boys finish before Christmas on 11 December, a week before the state schools. Halliford pupils go back on Wednesday 6 January 2027.
Primary schools across Spelthorne are a mix of county and academy schools. Most use the county dates but INSET days vary school to school, and the county’s term dates page links to its directory of every Surrey school.
What the two-week half term means for families
Holiday clubs, childcare and days out now have to stretch across ten weekdays rather than five. Our October half term in Staines page lists what is actually on locally across both weeks. The cost comes next summer: county-dated schools break up on Wednesday 28 July 2027, later than most families are used to, though every Spelthorne secondary above finishes earlier than that.
Still to be confirmed
- 2028/29 dates, which Surrey publishes in the spring before.
- Thomas Knyvett’s last day of the autumn term, while the calendar still shows a Saturday.
Doing the school run through the dark evenings? Our roadworks and parking pages are kept up to date through the term.
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