Kensington and Chelsea's half term is 26 to 30 October, but seven of ten local schools we checked break up on 16 October. Christmas and INSET dates too.
Kensington and Chelsea publishes one set of term dates and then, in its own words, tells parents to check with the school, because “non-community schools have the autonomy to determine their own term dates”. In this borough that is nearly every school. We checked ten of them against the council’s calendar, and the biggest difference lands in four weeks’ time: the council’s October half term is one week, from 26 to 30 October, but seven of the ten schools close for two weeks from Monday 19 October. Christmas is split three ways too, with the last day of term falling on 9, 11, 16 or 18 December depending on the school.
The quick answer
The council’s determined dates for 2026/27 run from Wednesday 2 September 2026 to Thursday 22 July 2027, with half term on Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, the Christmas holiday from Monday 21 December to Friday 1 January, and February half term on 15 to 19 February 2027. Holland Park School, Kensington Aldridge Academy, Fox Primary, Queen’s Gate, Francis Holland Sloane Square, Wetherby and Thomas’s Kensington all break up on Friday 16 October and return on Monday 2 November. Chelsea Academy closes from Thursday 22 October. Only Cardinal Vaughan and Hill House keep the council’s single week, and Cardinal Vaughan adds a staff day so pupils are back on Tuesday 3 November.
The council’s determined dates for 2026/27
These are the dates the council recommends for the nursery, primary and secondary schools it maintains, published on its school term and holiday dates page and last updated on 24 August 2026 (RBKC, school term and holiday dates).
| Term | Starts | Ends | School days | Holiday that follows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn 1 | Wednesday 2 September 2026 | Friday 23 October 2026 | 38 | Mon 26 to Fri 30 October |
| Autumn 2 | Monday 2 November 2026 | Friday 18 December 2026 | 35 | Mon 21 December to Fri 1 January |
| Spring 1 | Monday 4 January 2027 | Friday 12 February 2027 | 30 | Mon 15 to Fri 19 February |
| Spring 2 | Monday 22 February 2027 | Thursday 25 March 2027 | 24 | Fri 26 March to Fri 9 April |
| Summer 1 | Monday 12 April 2027 | Friday 28 May 2027 | 34 | Mon 31 May to Fri 4 June |
| Summer 2 | Monday 7 June 2027 | Thursday 22 July 2027 | 34 | Summer holiday |
That is 195 days. Each school takes five staff training days out of them, so pupils attend 190, and where a school puts those five days is most of the difference below. Two other council dates are worth noting: the May Day bank holiday is Monday 3 May 2027, the only bank holiday that falls in term time, and the council suggests Wednesday 7 July 2027 as the common transition day for Year 6 pupils to visit their new secondary school.
October: two weeks at seven schools, one week at two
The council’s holiday is 26 to 30 October. Here is what each school has actually published.
| School | Type | Last day before half term | Pupils return | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council determined dates | Fri 23 October | Mon 2 November | 1 week | |
| Holland Park School | Academy, W8 | Fri 16 October | Mon 2 November | 2 weeks |
| Kensington Aldridge Academy | Academy, W10 | Fri 16 October | Mon 2 November | 2 weeks |
| Chelsea Academy | Academy, SW10 | Wed 21 October | Mon 2 November | 7 school days |
| Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School | Voluntary aided, W14 | Fri 23 October | Tue 3 November | 1 week plus a staff day |
| Fox Primary School | Primary, W8 | Fri 16 October | Mon 2 November | 2 weeks (INSET 19 and 20 October) |
| Queen's Gate School | Independent, SW7 | Fri 16 October | Mon 2 November | 2 weeks |
| Francis Holland, Sloane Square | Independent, SW1W | Fri 16 October | Mon 2 November | 2 weeks |
| Wetherby School | Independent prep, W2 | Fri 16 October | Mon 2 November | 2 weeks |
| Thomas's Kensington | Independent prep, W8 | Fri 16 October | Mon 2 November | 2 weeks |
| Hill House School | Independent, SW1X | Fri 23 October | Mon 2 November | 1 week |
Fox Primary gets to two weeks by a different route from the others: its autumn term ends on 16 October, and it then files Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 October as INSET days before the holiday proper (Fox Primary School, term dates). Chelsea Academy’s break starts on Thursday 22 October, so its pupils get seven school days off rather than five or ten (Chelsea Academy, term dates PDF). Cardinal Vaughan takes the council’s week and adds a staff professional day on Monday 2 November (Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, term dates). What is on locally that week is on our October half term page.
Christmas: four different last days
| School | Last day of autumn term | First day back for all pupils |
|---|---|---|
| Council determined dates | Fri 18 December | Mon 4 January |
| Holland Park School | Fri 18 December | Tue 5 January |
| Kensington Aldridge Academy | Fri 18 December (half day) | Tue 5 January |
| Chelsea Academy | Fri 18 December (closes midday) | Wed 6 January |
| Cardinal Vaughan | Fri 18 December | Tue 5 January |
| Fox Primary | Fri 18 December | Tue 5 January |
| Queen's Gate | Wed 16 December | Thu 7 January |
| Thomas's Kensington | Wed 16 December (half day) | Thu 7 January |
| Francis Holland, Sloane Square | Fri 11 December (1pm) | Tue 5 January |
| Wetherby School | Fri 11 December | Tue 5 January |
| Hill House | Wed 9 December | Tue 5 January |
Not one of the ten schools has pupils in on the council’s first day back, Monday 4 January. Every one of them uses it as a staff day, and Chelsea Academy takes Tuesday 5 January as well, so its pupils return on Wednesday 6 January. Queen’s Gate and Thomas’s do not open to pupils until Thursday 7 January.
The start of term was staggered too
The council’s autumn term began on Wednesday 2 September. Of the ten schools, only Fox Primary, Francis Holland and Hill House had every pupil in that day. Holland Park used 1 and 2 September as INSET days, brought Year 7 in on Thursday 3 September, added Years 12 and 13 on the Friday, and opened to all on Monday 7 September (Holland Park School, term dates). Kensington Aldridge Academy, Chelsea Academy and Cardinal Vaughan all followed the same shape, with Years 7 and 12 in on Friday 4 September and everyone else on the 7th (KAA, term dates). Queen’s Gate and Wetherby opened on Thursday 3 September, and Thomas’s Kensington on Monday 7 September.
Staff training days still to come
These are the closures that catch parents out, because they fall on days the council’s calendar counts as school days. Every date here comes from the school’s own calendar.
- Friday 25 September 2026: Chelsea Academy INSET day.
- Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 October: Fox Primary INSET days.
- Friday 30 October: Kensington Aldridge Academy planning day, inside its half term.
- Monday 2 November: Cardinal Vaughan staff professional day.
- Friday 11 December: Kensington Aldridge Academy planning day.
- Monday 4 January 2027: Holland Park, KAA, Cardinal Vaughan, Fox, Francis Holland and Wetherby all closed to pupils. Chelsea Academy has a marking day on the 4th and an INSET day on the 5th.
- Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 January: Queen’s Gate staff days.
- Monday 22 February: KAA training day and Chelsea Academy INSET day, the Monday after February half term.
- Thursday 25 March: Francis Holland staff day.
- Monday 12 April: KAA training day and Cardinal Vaughan staff day.
- Monday 19 April: Wetherby staff day.
- Monday 7 June: KAA training day, the Monday after May half term.
- Monday 19 July: Holland Park INSET day and Chelsea Academy occasional day.
- Wednesday 21 July: KAA training day, followed by planning days on 22 and 23 July.
Kensington Aldridge Academy also lists 28 August 2026 and 1, 2 and 3 September as staff days, all of which have passed (KAA, term dates).
The summer term ends on five different days
The council’s summer term runs to Thursday 22 July 2027. Fox Primary goes one day later, to Friday 23 July. Kensington Aldridge Academy finishes with a half day on Tuesday 20 July, and Holland Park, Chelsea Academy and Cardinal Vaughan on Friday 16 July. The independents finish earlier still: Wetherby on 9 July, Hill House and Francis Holland on 7 July, and Queen’s Gate on Friday 2 July (Queen’s Gate School, term dates; Francis Holland School, term dates; Wetherby School, calendar; Hill House School, term dates; Thomas’s Kensington, term dates).
What this page does not cover
Thomas’s Kensington and Hill House do not publish their INSET days on their term-dates pages, and Thomas’s warns that dates “may vary a little for some year groups”. Bousfield Primary’s website did not show a term-dates page when we checked. If your school is not listed, its own calendar is the only reliable source, and the council says the same. The 2027/28 determined dates are not yet published; the council usually adds them the following summer, and this page will be updated when they appear.
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