When do the summer holidays end in Scotland? And key dates for the 2025/26 school year

Across Scotland, many a parent will be counting down the days until the summer holidays end.

Fortunately, there are now just a few weeks to go before the start of the new, 2025/26 school year beckons them back. As per usual, this coming academic year will be made up of three terms for most pupils, totalling about 190 days (or 38 weeks) in the classroom. But these will be broken up by a series of mid-term breaks, longer holiday periods, and even more localised, regional holidays.

In Scotland, each local authority is able to set its own term dates. While these usually follow a similar overall trend, this means that when school holidays start and finish can look rather different depending on where you live.

With this in mind, we’ve looked into the exact date children are set to go back to school across each of the country’s council areas. We’ve also taken a look at what term dates might look like in the year to come, to give families a general idea.

Here are the days – by council area – that the new term, and the new school year will get underway:

When the summer holidays end in each Scottish council area

• Aberdeen City Council: New school year begins Tuesday, August 19
• Aberdeenshire Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 20
• Angus Council: New school year begins Tuesday, August 19
• Argyll and Bute Council: New school year begins Thursday, August 14
• City of Edinburgh Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 13
• Clackmannanshire Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 13
• Comhairle nan Eilean Siar: New school year begins Thursday, August 14
• Dumfries and Galloway Council: New school year begins Thursday, August 21
• Dundee City Council: New school year begins Tuesday, August 19
• East Ayrshire Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 20
• East Dunbartonshire Council: New school year begins Thursday, August 14
• East Lothian Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 13
• East Renfrewshire Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 13
• Falkirk Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 13
• Fife Council: New school year begins Monday, August 18
• Glasgow City Council: New school year begins Thursday, August 14
• Highland Council: New school year begins Tuesday, August 19
• Inverclyde Council: New school year begins Tuesday, August 19
• Midlothian Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 13
• Moray Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 20
• North Ayrshire Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 20
• North Lanarkshire Council: New school year begins Thursday, August 14
• Orkney Islands Council: New school year begins Tuesday, August 19
• Perth and Kinross Council: New school year begins Tuesday, August 19
• Renfrewshire Council: New school year begins Monday, August 18
• Scottish Borders Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 20
• Shetland Islands Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 20
• South Ayrshire Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 20
• South Lanarkshire Council: New school year begins Thursday, August 14
• Stirling Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 13
• West Dunbartonshire Council: New school year begins Friday, August 15
• West Lothian Council: New school year begins Wednesday, August 13

What will the term dates look like for the upcoming 2025/26 academic year?

Again, these may vary a little depending on your council or even your child’s individual school. It’s worth checking in with them too to avoid being caught out. Regardless, term and holiday dates usually follow a pretty consistent pattern, so for a general idea, here are Edinburgh’s:

Term One

• Wednesday, August 13: New school year begins
• Monday, October 13 - Monday, October 20: Mid-term break
• Monday, December 19: Last day of school
• Monday, December 22 2025 - Monday, January 5 2026: Christmas and New Year holidays

Term Two

• Tuesday, January 6: Second term begins
• Monday, February 16 - Friday, February 20: Mid-term break
• Monday, February 23: School resumes
• Friday, April 3 - Monday, April 20: Easter holidays

Term Three

• Tuesday, April 21: Third term begins
• Monday, May 4: May Day bank holiday
• Friday, June 26: Last day of school
• Monday, June 30: Summer holidays begin

The Scottish Government has a helpful online portal you can use to find the specific terms dates for your council area. You can find this online here – just enter your local council, and you will be redirected to the relevant page.