UAE reveals key dates for the 2025-2026 academic school year
If you're a parent, teacher, or student in the UAE, it's time to start planning ahead. The UAE's Ministry of Education has officially announced the academic calendar for the 2025-2026 school year, including term dates and holidays across both public and private schools that follow the ministry's curriculum.
According to the announcement, students will return to school on Monday, August 25, 2025, after a long summer break. Teaching staff and administrators will resume a week earlier, on Monday, August 18, 2025.
The calendar sets a minimum of 188 school days for the year, broken down into three terms:
The school year will begin on August 25, 2025. The calendar sets unified dates for the start of the academic year, end of the three terms, and end of term breaks.
For schools operating on the September-start calendar, the schedule for the 2025–2026 academic year is as follows:
Start of the academic year: Monday, 25 August 2025
End of first term and start of winter break: December 8, 2025, to January 4, 2026. Classes resume on January 5, 2026.
Start of spring break: March 16-19, 2026. Schools resume on March 30, 2026.
For private schools in Sharjah: spring break from March 16 to 22, 2026. Classes resume on March 23, 2026.
As usual, the exact end-of-year date will depend on how each school completes its academic requirements and exams, but July 3 is the cut-off.
The announcement applies to schools under the Ministry of Education curriculum, including many public schools and some private institutions. International schools that follow other curricula (such as British, IB, American, or Indian) may have slightly different schedules and should refer to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai or ADEK in Abu Dhabi for specific term breakdowns.
The advance release of the calendar is meant to help families plan vacations, travel, and childcare around the school year more effectively. It also ensures consistent academic instruction across the UAE.
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