Hampshire term dates for 2028/29 agreed on despite 'trickiness'

The calendar has been taken to the school union groups and Hampshire schools have been consulted with.

Hampshire County Council officers indicate that the calendar is “the best balance of terms” as they can find in a particular year when the early Easter and Christmas on a Monday have made things “slightly tricky”.

This means that there are some half-week starts and finishes. But in line with teacher and staff “wishes”, the council has managed to propose two weeks at Christmas, starting on December 21, Thursday, and finishing on January 3, Wednesday.

The Easter holidays will start on Friday, March 30, and will finish on Friday, April 13.

A council officer said that the early May bank holiday means it is “necessary” to have two days, July 23 and 24, as a half week before the summer holidays commence.

Despite the “trickiness” of the calendar, the proposed plan is still considered to provide the best balance of terms.

The officer said: “Our proposal around the ending of the autumn terms splits that in the middle and proposes a half-week finish to ensure that the autumn term is not too long but also the Christmas holidays aren’t compromised, representing the best balance of dates overall.”

Cllr Roz Chadd made a call to schools to share the calendar with parents “as soon as possible” so parents can plan ahead for holidays, preventing children from being absent from school, which will improve attendance records in Hampshire.

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