Harrow's October half term is 26 to 30 October and Christmas starts 18 December, but Harrow High, John Lyon and NLCS finish on 11 December. School by school.
Harrow Council sets one calendar for the borough’s community schools, and it is a straightforward one: a single week off in October, a fortnight at Christmas, the summer term ending on a Thursday. The catch is that the council’s dates only bind the schools it runs. Academies, voluntary aided schools and independents set their own, and the council’s own page tells parents to “contact each school directly”. We did that for five of the borough’s best-known secondary schools. Three of them break up for Christmas on 11 December, a week before the council’s date, and two of them give a two-week October half term.
The quick answer
Harrow’s community schools have their October half term on Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, break up for Christmas on Friday 18 December 2026 and go back on Monday 4 January 2027. Harrow High School, John Lyon and North London Collegiate School all finish the autumn term on Friday 11 December. John Lyon and NLCS also start their October break a week early, on Monday 19 October.
Harrow Council’s term dates for 2026/27
These are the dates in Harrow Council’s school term dates page and its detailed 2026/27 calendar, checked on 25 September 2026.
| Term | First half | Half term | Second half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn 2026 | Wed 2 September to Fri 23 October | Mon 26 to Fri 30 October | Mon 2 November to Fri 18 December |
| Spring 2027 | Mon 4 January to Fri 12 February | Mon 15 to Fri 19 February | Mon 22 February to Thu 25 March |
| Summer 2027 | Mon 12 April to Fri 28 May | Mon 31 May to Fri 4 June | Mon 7 June to Thu 22 July |
That gives a Christmas holiday from Monday 21 December to Friday 1 January and an Easter holiday from Friday 26 March to Friday 9 April, which the council’s calendar notes is 11 school days rather than the usual 10. The year totals 195 school days including INSET days.
Three things the council’s calendar says that are easy to miss:
- INSET days are set by each school, not the council. Five are built into the 195 days, so every school will be shut to pupils on five days that look like term time on the table above.
- Governing bodies can add up to three occasional days for non-Christian religious festivals. If a school uses all three, its year becomes 198 days and the extra days go on the end of the summer term.
- The bank holidays inside the school year are 25 and 28 December 2026, 1 January 2027, 26 and 29 March 2027 (Easter), 3 May 2027 and 31 May 2027.
School by school: where the dates differ
Each school’s own published calendar, checked on 25 September 2026. The table shows the autumn term, which is where the differences are largest.
| School | Type | October half term | Last day before Christmas | Back in January |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrow Council calendar | Community schools | Mon 26 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| Harrow High School | Academy | Mon 26 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 11 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| Nower Hill High School | Academy | Mon 26 Oct to Tue 3 Nov | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan (staff planning day) |
| Bentley Wood High School | Academy | Mon 26 to Fri 30 Oct, plus 22, 23 Oct and 2 Nov | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan (training day) |
| John Lyon | Independent | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 11 Dec | Thu 7 Jan |
| North London Collegiate School | Independent | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 11 Dec | Tue 5 Jan (Thu 7 Jan for First School) |
The detail behind each row:
- Harrow High School has an INSET day on Thursday 3 September, then runs to the council’s October half term, but ends the autumn term on Friday 11 December and the summer term on Friday 23 July 2027, a day later than the council (Harrow High School).
- Nower Hill High School in Pinner lists its October half term as 26 October to 3 November, so pupils have two extra days on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 November. It also lists a staff planning day on Monday 4 January, an INSET day on Thursday 25 March, and INSET or planning days on 27 and 28 May and 21 July 2027. Its summer term ends on Wednesday 21 July (Nower Hill High School).
- Bentley Wood High School in Stanmore has staff training days on Thursday 22 October and Monday 2 November, and lists the school as closed on Friday 23 October, so its girls are off from 22 October to 2 November inclusive. Its first day back in January is a training day as well (Bentley Wood).
- John Lyon has a two-week October half term from 19 to 30 October, ends term on 11 December, has staff training days from 4 to 6 January and starts the spring term on Thursday 7 January. The summer term ends on Friday 9 July 2027 (John Lyon).
- North London Collegiate School in Edgware also breaks for two weeks from 19 to 30 October and ends term on 11 December. Senior and Lower Schools return on Tuesday 5 January and the First School on Thursday 7 January. The summer term ends on Friday 9 July 2027 (NLCS).
Harrow School
Harrow School runs a boarding calendar with exeats, and its 2026/27 dates are still marked provisional. Its autumn half term runs from Friday 23 October at 1pm to Wednesday 4 November at 9pm, with exeats from 1 to 4 October and 20 to 22 November, and the term ends at 11am on Saturday 12 December. The spring term starts on Monday 11 January 2027 and the summer term ends on Saturday 3 July 2027 (Harrow School, provisional term dates).
Your child’s school is not listed
Primary schools, voluntary aided schools and the borough’s other academies each publish their own calendar, usually on a “term dates” page on the school’s website. Check it before you book anything for October or the week before Christmas: the council’s dates are only the default, and five INSET days per school are not on them at all.
What is on in half term
For what is actually happening across the borough in the October holiday, see Harrow October half term. For the Christmas break, the council’s revised bin days are on Harrow Christmas bin collections.
Still to confirm
- Harrow School’s dates are provisional and may change.
- 2027/28 dates: set on 24 September 2026, along with 2028/29 and 2029/30, subject to call-in until 2 October. The 2027/28 year starts on Wednesday 1 September 2027. We have the full calendar to 2030.
Sources
- Harrow Council, school term dates
- Harrow Council, Harrow School Term Dates 2026-27 (PDF)
- Harrow High School, term dates 2026-27
- Nower Hill High School, term dates
- Bentley Wood High School, term dates
- John Lyon, term dates
- North London Collegiate School, term dates
- Harrow School, term dates 2026-27 (provisional, PDF)
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