Ireland's Online Resource for Parents & Teachers
| Home | Parents | Teachers | Discussion Boards | School Calendar | Search | Contact schooldays |
Share| 2009/2010 | Scheduled School Holidays |  | Dates to Note - Further details on these events available on our Schools Event Guide |
| | | |
| | | |
| September | Schools throughout the country re-open during the last week in August and the first week in September (Visit our Back-to-School Section) | | Junior Certificate Results Issue Mid September
|
| | | |
| October | October Mid-Term All Schools close from Monday 26th October to Friday 30th October inclusive with Halloween falling on Saturday 31st October (Visit our Halloween Section for Halloween Family Breaks, Kids Camps and ideas for Halloween Fun | | Children’s Book Festival - 1st – 31st October (series of author readings, illustrator workshops, storytelling sessions, competitions, quizzes taking place in libraries, schools, bookstores and art-centres) RDS Science Live Demonstration Lecture Series commences 19th October |
| | | |
November | Schools re-open Monday 2nd November after the mid-term break | | Science Week - 8th – 15th November (series of events & lectures for students on the role of science & engineering in everyday lives) Grand Final of first ever Co-operation Ireland School Choir ’09 - 15th November Belfast |
| | | |
| In its third year of publication our Family School Calendar & Organiser is now available to order. The latest edition covers 19 months from January 2010 to July 2011 highlighting school holidays and events. The Recurring Afterschool Activities Recorder allows you to easily view weekly activities as you move from month to month. | ||
| December | Christmas Holidays Schools close Tuesday 22nd December for the Christmas holidays (Visit our Christmas Section for festive Family Breaks, Kids Camps and ideas for Christmas Crafts & Fun | | |
| | | |
| January | All schools re-open Thursday 7th January | | BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, RDS - 12th – 16th January |
| | | |
| February | February Mid-Term Secondary Schools closed 15th – 19th Feb incl Primary schools close either on 15th – 16th Feb or 18th -19th Feb with the option to use 3 discretionary days to extend the break to 5 days – check what your school is doing. Visit our February Mid-Term section for Family Breaks, Kids Camps and events | | Closing Date for CAO – 1st February Engineering Week - 8th – 13th February (a range of FREE interactive engineering-related activities in counties across Ireland) Find out more |
| | | |
| March | St Patricks Day - 17th March Easter Holidays All schools are closed from Monday 29th March for 2 weeks - Visit our Easter Section for Family Breaks, Kids Camps and events | | Seachtain na Gaeilge –1 – 17th March ( a festival of Irish Language & Culture with events held in schools throughout the country.) |
| | | |
| April | All schools re-open on Monday 12th April following Easter Holidays - Visit our Easter Section for Family Breaks, Kids Camps and events | | Leaving Certificate Oral Exams commence 12th April - View Practical Leaving Cert Timetable |
| | | |
| May | May Bank Holiday – Monday 3rd May Some primary schools (usually those who took a short February mid-term) will close for a few extra days after the May bank holiday – check with your school. | | Late Closing date for CAO – 1st May |
| | | |
| June | Secondary schools finish by 4th June to facilitate start of state Junior & Leaving Certificate Results June Bank Holiday – Monday 7th June Primary Schools finish between 23 – 30th June | | Junior & Leaving Certificate Examinations commence on Wednesday 9th June View Leaving Cert Timetable View Junior Cert Timetable |
| | | |
School Year 2010/2011
October 2010 mid-term break - All schools will close from 25th to 29th October 2010 inclusive
Christmas 2010 - All schools will close on 23rd December 2010 which will be the final day of the school term. All schools will re-open on 10th January 2011
February 2011 mid-term break - Post-Primary schools will close from 21st to 25th February 2011 inclusive. Primary schools will close from 21st to 22nd February 2011 inclusive or 24th to 25th inclusive. (Primary schools may use 3 discretionary days to extend this break to an alternative option of a 5 day break).
Easter 2011 - All schools will close on 15th April 2011 which will be the final day of the school term. All schools will re-open on 3rd May 2011.
Extract from Circular M21/04
Religious Observance and standardisation
The above arrangements are agreed without prejudice to closure on specific days, within the overall requirement of 167 days at post primary level and 183 days at primary level, dictated by religious observance that is required in schools under the patronage of different denominations or faiths.
In the absence of an adequate number of discretionary days a school authority may choose to utilize a religious observance day for non-tuition purposes when planning the school year.
Extent of flexibility
It was not a requirement of this agreement that the commencement or end of the school year either at primary or post primary level should be standardised. However while schools may use their discretionary days, where available, to determine the precise start and end of the school year, it is recognised the commencement of Certificate examinations will mean that post primary schools will not be open for tuition beyond the Friday preceding the June bank holiday in any year. The expectation is that in order to meet the overall requirement of a minimum of 167 at post primary level or 183 days at primary level the school year will normally commence in the week that 1st September falls.
The arrangements may provide some limited flexibility to schools on certain other days outside of the defined periods. The scheduling of such days must not be used to extend or modify the periods set out above in respect of mid-term and Christmas and Easter breaks save where religious observance requirements of a school under a particular patronage make this necessary.
Source: Dept of Education Website
