The next days off for most UAE schools are the National Day holiday, from Wednesday 2 to Friday 4 December 2026, and then the winter break, from Monday 14 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, with classes back on Monday 4 January 2027. Spring break is 5 to 11 April 2027, and the school year ends on Friday 2 July 2027.
These dates come from two places. The UAE Ministry of Education (MoE) publishes one calendar for public schools and for private schools on its curriculum. KHDA, which oversees Dubai's private schools, publishes the breaks that every private school in Dubai must follow. Your child's school confirms its own calendar, so check it before you book flights or camps.
The 2026-27 school year at a glance
These dates are for students at schools whose year starts in late August: every public school, and the private schools on KHDA's calendar for schools starting in September. The public holidays are the ones the MoE calendar marks. KHDA says its calendar communicates public holidays tentatively, so schools confirm the exact days nearer the time.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Monday 31 August 2026 | First day of the school year for students |
| Monday 12 to Sunday 18 October 2026 | First-term mid-term break (MoE schools; other private schools can differ) |
| Monday 19 October 2026 | Classes start again |
| Wednesday 2 to Friday 4 December 2026 | National Day holiday (MoE calendar) |
| Monday 14 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 | Winter break, all schools |
| Friday 1 January 2027 | New Year holiday, inside the winter break |
| Monday 4 January 2027 | Second term starts |
| Monday 8 to Friday 12 March 2027 | Eid Al-Fitr holiday (MoE calendar) |
| Monday 5 to Sunday 11 April 2027 | Spring break, all schools |
| Monday 12 April 2027 | Third term starts |
| Saturday 15 to Tuesday 18 May 2027 | Eid Al-Adha holiday (MoE calendar) |
| Sunday 6 June 2027 | Hijri New Year (MoE calendar) |
| Friday 2 July 2027 | Last day of the school year for students |
Add the school year to your calendar
Every 2026-27 term date, break and school holiday. Subscribe once and your calendar keeps the dates up to date.
National Day: five days off, 2 to 6 December
The MoE calendar gives students a National Day holiday from Wednesday 2 to Friday 4 December 2026 (MoE calendar). With the weekend, that makes five days off in a row, from Wednesday 2 to Sunday 6 December. KHDA treats the public holidays in its calendar as tentative, so private schools confirm their exact days nearer the time.
For students at MoE-curriculum schools, end-of-term exams sit either side of it: 25 to 27 November and 7 to 11 December. Five days is long enough for a short trip, or for a few days of camp: ask the holiday camp providers whether they run anything over those dates, and ask your weekly classes whether they pause for the holiday.
Winter break: 14 December to 3 January
In the MoE's words: "Winter break will kick-off from 14 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, with schools resuming on 4 January 2027" (MoE, 2026). KHDA lists the same break for all private schools in Dubai, including the schools whose year starts in April (KHDA).
That gives three weekday weeks: 14 to 18 December, 21 to 25 December and 28 December to 1 January, with 1 January marked as the New Year holiday. It is a week shorter than last year's break, which Gulf News reported as running from 8 December 2025 to 4 January 2026 (Gulf News, 2025). You can book a camp for one week and keep another free for family time or travel.
The winter camps page lists the camps that have announced their winter dates, with dates, ages and prices as each camp publishes them, plus the holiday camp providers you can message to ask. For the days without camp, there are days out across Dubai and soft play centres for younger children.
October half-term, and the February days some schools keep
The MoE calendar set the first mid-term break at Monday 12 to Friday 16 October 2026, with schools back on 19 October, and KHDA's calendar lists that break "for MOE Private Schools only". In September, KHDA reminded "all private schools in Dubai to adhere to the unified academic calendar dates", and some private schools, particularly British-curriculum ones, that had planned their break for 19 to 23 October moved it to 12 to 16 October (Gulf News, September 2026).
Private schools that don't follow the MoE curriculum can still apply to "split their midterm break between October and February", as long as the total is no more than five school days (The National, September 2026). If your child had a short break in October, check the school calendar for a few days off in February, and ask camp providers about those dates early.
Ramadan 2027: shorter school days
Ramadan is expected to begin on Monday 8 February 2027, according to the UAE Astronomy Centre's projections, and to last 29 or 30 days; the start is confirmed by moon sighting (The National, 2026). The MoE calendar already sets aside 8 to 12 March 2027 for the Eid Al-Fitr holiday.
School days are usually shorter in Ramadan. For Ramadan 2026, Gulf News reported that KHDA's guidance for Dubai's private schools set a "Maximum school day: 5 hours", and that on Fridays "Schools must end no later than 11:30 AM" (Gulf News, February 2026). The 2027 guidance hasn't been published yet. With pick-up earlier, ask your child's clubs and classes whether their times change during Ramadan.
Spring break: 5 to 11 April 2027
Spring break is "from 5 April to 11 April 2027, with schools resuming on 12 April 2027", and KHDA lists the same week for all schools. It comes a few weeks after the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which the MoE calendar puts at 8 to 12 March 2027 (MoE calendar).
Eid dates follow the Islamic calendar, and KHDA treats public holidays as tentative, so plan around them loosely until they're confirmed. For a spring camp, start with the holiday camps on Waha and ask about their April dates.
Summer 2027 and the next school year
The school year ends for students on Friday 2 July 2027. The MoE has already published the next two years too. The 2027-28 year starts on 30 August 2027, with a mid-term break from 11 to 17 October 2027 and a winter break from 13 December 2027 to 2 January 2028, so you can pencil in next year's trips now.
Schools whose year starts in April
The MoE says its calendar "does not apply to private schools following alternative curricula, such as Indian, Bangladeshi, or Pakistani". In Dubai, KHDA publishes a separate calendar for private schools whose year starts in April.
For 2026-27, those schools started on 6 April 2026, broke for summer on 6 July and came back on 31 August. They share the winter break: it starts on 14 December 2026, with classes back on 4 January 2027. Their year ends in March 2027, between 15 and 31 March, "subject to the school fulfilling the stipulated number of school days", in KHDA's words.
Planning activities around the breaks
Breaks are a good time to try something new without signing up for a whole term. A camp week can show whether your child enjoys a sport or an art before you commit to weekly classes, and our guide to one sport or several looks at the case for trying more than one.
With a younger child, which sports suit a 5-year-old is a useful starting point for choosing a camp, and the swimming and football guide covers how those two fit around the school year.
Weekly classes don't all follow the school calendar: some keep going through the breaks and some pause. Ask your child's providers before you plan around them. New to Dubai? Our guide to finding clubs and activities for your kids explains how trials, bookings and camps work here.
