Hertfordshire's half term is 26 to 30 October, but Barclay Academy is off until 6 November and the Valley stops on 21 October. Six Stevenage schools compared.
Hertfordshire County Council publishes one set of term dates and says academies do not have to follow them. In Stevenage every secondary school is an academy or foundation school, and between the six we checked there are three different October half terms, three different training days in the run-up to Christmas, and a two-week autumn break at one of them. This page sets out the county’s dates for 2026/27 and 2027/28, then the six school calendars side by side.
The quick answer
Hertfordshire’s October half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 and the Christmas holiday is Monday 21 December 2026 to Friday 1 January 2027. Every Stevenage secondary we checked finishes for Christmas on Friday 18 December and has pupils back on Tuesday 5 January 2027. The differences are in the autumn: Barclay Academy’s half term runs two weeks, 26 October to 6 November, with a training day on Friday 23 October; The Valley School has training days on 21 and 22 October, so its pupils are off from Wednesday 21 October; and Friday 27 November is an occasional day at Nobel, Thomas Alleyne and Barnwell, while Marriotts closes on Monday 30 November and Barclay on Monday 7 December instead.
The county’s dates
These are Hertfordshire County Council’s published term dates (Hertfordshire County Council, school term dates). The council says community and voluntary-controlled schools must use them, adding five INSET days and one occasional day when children do not attend, and that “academies, voluntary-aided, foundation and free schools aren’t required to follow the above term dates”.
| Holiday | 2026/27 | 2027/28 |
|---|---|---|
| Start of school year | Tuesday 1 September 2026 | Wednesday 1 September 2027 |
| October half term | 26 to 30 October 2026 | 25 to 29 October 2027 |
| Christmas | 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027 | 20 December 2027 to 3 January 2028 |
| February half term | 15 to 19 February 2027 | 14 to 18 February 2028 |
| Easter | 26 March to 9 April 2027 | 3 to 17 April 2028 |
| May half term | 31 May to 4 June 2027 | 29 May to 2 June 2028 |
| Summer holiday | 23 July to 31 August 2027 | 25 July to 1 September 2028 |
The 2027 Easter holiday is early, running from Good Friday on 26 March. The 2028 one is late, starting on 3 April.
Six Stevenage secondaries, autumn term 2026
The table below is built from each school’s own published calendar, linked in the notes beneath it. It covers the autumn term, where the calendars differ most. Every school listed finishes for Christmas on Friday 18 December and takes Monday 4 January as a training day, with pupils back on Tuesday 5 January.
| School | All pupils back | October break | Other closures before Christmas | Last day of term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Nobel School | Fri 4 Sep | 26 to 30 Oct | Fri 27 Nov (occasional day) | Fri 18 Dec |
| Barclay Academy | Fri 4 Sep | Fri 23 Oct (INSET) then 26 Oct to 6 Nov, back Mon 9 Nov | Mon 7 Dec (INSET) | Fri 18 Dec |
| The Thomas Alleyne Academy | Fri 4 Sep | 26 to 30 Oct | Fri 27 Nov (occasional day) | Fri 18 Dec |
| Marriotts School | Fri 4 Sep | 26 to 30 Oct | Mon 30 Nov (INSET) | Fri 18 Dec, 12.20pm |
| Barnwell School | Thu 3 Sep | 26 to 30 Oct | Fri 27 Nov (training day) | Fri 18 Dec, 12pm |
| The Valley School | Thu 3 Sep | Wed 21 and Thu 22 Oct (INSET) then 26 to 30 Oct | None | Fri 18 Dec, 12.30pm |
Sources, school by school:
- The Nobel School: INSET Tuesday 1 September, Year 13 in on 2 September, Years 7 and 12 on 3 September, everyone on 4 September. Occasional day Friday 27 November. Spring term 5 January to 25 March, summer term 13 April to 16 July, with half terms 15 to 19 February and 31 May to 4 June (The Nobel School calendar).
- Barclay Academy: INSET on 1 and 2 September, Years 7 and 12 in on 3 September, whole school on 4 September. INSET Friday 23 October, then a two-week break to Friday 6 November. INSET Monday 7 December. Spring term Tuesday 5 January to Thursday 25 March, summer term Monday 12 April to Thursday 22 July with an INSET on Friday 25 June (Barclay Academy term dates).
- The Thomas Alleyne Academy: INSET 1 and 2 September, Years 7 and 12 on 3 September, all years on 4 September. Occasional day Friday 27 November. INSET Monday 4 January, Easter 26 March to 9 April, summer term ends Tuesday 20 July (The Thomas Alleyne Academy term dates).
- Marriotts School: INSET 1 and 2 September and Monday 30 November. Year 7 induction Thursday 3 September, all pupils Friday 4 September. Closes at 12.20pm on 18 December and at midday on 25 March; summer term ends Wednesday 21 July at 12pm with an INSET on 22 July (Marriotts School term dates).
- Barnwell School: term runs Thursday 3 September to Friday 23 October, then 2 November to 18 December. Training days 1 and 2 September, 27 November, 4 January, and 21 and 22 July. Closes at 12pm on 18 December, 25 March and 20 July (Barnwell School term dates 2026/27, PDF).
- The Valley School: INSET 1 September, 21 and 22 October, 4 January and 12 April. Year 7 in on 2 September, all pupils on 3 September. Closes at 12.30pm on 18 December, 25 March and 22 July (The Valley School term dates).
What the differences mean in practice
October. A family with one child at Barclay and another at Nobel has one child off for two weeks and one for one. Barclay pupils are off from the end of Thursday 22 October to Monday 9 November. Valley pupils are off from Wednesday 21 October, back on Friday 23 October for a single day, then off again for the county week. Our October half term page lists what is on locally across both weeks.
Late November. Friday 27 November is a day off at three of the six schools. It is the Friday before the Old Town Christmas lights switch-on and a week after the town centre one, both on our Christmas lights page. Marriotts pupils get the following Monday instead, and Barclay pupils the Monday after that.
December. All six finish on Friday 18 December, three of them at or around midday. The county’s Christmas holiday starts on the Monday, and with Monday 4 January taken as a training day everywhere, the first day back is Tuesday 5 January 2027.
Primary schools
Hertfordshire’s community and voluntary-controlled primaries must follow the county dates above and add their own five INSET days and one occasional day. Academy primaries set their own. The INSET days are published on each school’s own website, not on the county’s term dates page.
Still to be confirmed
- 2027/28 dates for the six secondaries. Only the county’s have been published. Schools usually post the following year’s calendar in the spring term.
- Primary INSET days for 2026/27 are on each school’s own site, not the county’s.
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