School Holidays: North Tyneside Term Dates 2025-2027

Trying to remember when half term starts, or working out whether you can book a holiday without clashing with school? Here are the official North Tyneside Council term dates for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 academic years. These apply to community and voluntary-controlled schools across the borough, including those in Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, North Shields, and Wallsend.

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2025-2026 Term Dates

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2026-2027 Term Dates

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INSET Days

Every school in North Tyneside must schedule five INSET days (also called teacher training days or staff development days) during each academic year. Pupils stay at home on these days while staff attend training at school.

The catch is that each school chooses its own INSET dates. The council sets the term dates, but the five training days are decided at school level. Two schools on the same street could have different INSET days. Most schools publish their dates on their website at the start of each academic year. If you cannot find them, a quick call to the school office will confirm.

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Do All Schools Follow These Dates?

The dates above are set by North Tyneside Council and apply to community and voluntary-controlled schools. Academies and free schools are legally free to set their own calendars.

In Whitley Bay, this matters because several popular schools are academies. Whitley Bay High School, part of Tyne Coast Academy Trust, generally follows the council dates closely but is not bound to do so. Monkseaton High School and Marden Bridge Middle School are also academies that typically align with the local authority calendar, though small differences can occur. Parents should always confirm with their own school rather than assuming the council dates apply exactly.

First schools in the area, such as Marine Park First School and Whitley Lodge First School, are community schools and follow the council calendar directly.

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Key Dates to Watch

A few dates trip families up year after year:

• September start -- many schools use an INSET day on the first day of term, so pupils may not return until a day or two after the official start date shown above.
• Easter shifts every year. In 2026, Easter Sunday falls on 5 April. In 2027, it falls on 28 March. The council adjusts the Easter break around these dates, which changes the length of the spring and summer terms.
• May bank holiday -- Monday 4 May 2026 and Monday 3 May 2027 -- falls within the summer term and is a day off in addition to the half-term week.
• Summer holiday runs for roughly six weeks, from mid-July to the start of September.

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Three-Tier System in Whitley Bay

Worth noting for families new to the area: North Tyneside operates a three-tier school system in Whitley Bay and the surrounding area. Children attend a first school (ages 3-9), then a middle school (ages 9-13), and then a high school (ages 13-18). This is different from the two-tier primary-and-secondary system used in most of England, and it means there are two school transitions rather than one. All three tiers follow the same council term dates.

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Where to Check the Official Dates

The definitive source is the North Tyneside Council website:

• North Tyneside Council - School Term Dates
• 2026-2027 Term Dates

For academy term dates, check the individual school website or the relevant academy trust.

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Planning Ahead

The key holiday weeks to mark in your diary each year are:

• October half term -- one week, usually the last full week of October
• Christmas -- roughly two weeks, bridging late December and early January
• February half term -- one week in mid-February
• Easter -- approximately two weeks, shifting with the Easter calendar
• May half term -- one week at the end of May or start of June
• Summer -- six weeks from mid-July to early September

North Tyneside Council typically publishes term dates at least two years in advance, so forward planning is straightforward. The 2027-2028 dates are already available on the council website.

Best for: Always confirm dates with your child's school. Academies may differ from the council calendar, and INSET days vary between schools.