YOUR GATEWAY TO DUBAI LIFE

UAE School Term Planner & Holiday Countdown

Every break and term date for Dubai's two school calendars in 2026–27 — the September-start calendar (Ministry of Education curriculum, British, American, IB and most private schools) and the April-start calendar (most Indian and Pakistani curriculum schools) — with a live countdown to the next break and the next school start. Every date below is taken from an official source, named under the tables.

Next school break — both calendars

Counting…

September-start calendar — 2026–27

Public schools and private schools following the Ministry of Education curriculum, plus Dubai's British, American, IB and other September-start private schools (minimum 185 school days).

MilestoneDates

Source: UAE Ministry of Education, Academic Calendar 2026–2027 (the official calendar PDF for public and MoE-curriculum private schools — the same dates KHDA applies to Dubai private schools; the October mid-term break is listed by KHDA for MoE-curriculum private schools). Fetched and checked 7 November 2026.

April-start calendar — 2026–27

Most Indian and Pakistani curriculum schools in Dubai (minimum 182 school days). This calendar year is already under way — it began in April 2026.

MilestoneDates

Source: KHDA's published academic-calendar dates for April-start Dubai private schools (as announced by KHDA for 2026–27; KHDA's own calendar portal was unreachable from our network when checked on 7 November 2026, so these rows carry the KHDA dates exactly as published, and the winter break agrees with the Ministry of Education calendar above). The next April-start year — April 2027 — had not been published by KHDA when this page was checked, so the countdown counts to the most recently published April-start milestone rather than inventing a date.

Public holidays inside the school year

These UAE public holidays fall inside the 2026–27 school year and close schools on top of the breaks above. Islamic holiday dates are only confirmed by moon sighting — the Ministry's own calendar prints its in-year Eid dates as calendar entries, and the expected dates below come from our UAE Public Holidays tool.

HolidayDates
Prophet's BirthdayListed in the Ministry of Education calendarFri 28 August 2026Expected — confirmed by moon sighting
Eid Al Etihad (UAE National Day)Listed in the Ministry of Education calendarWed 2 – Thu 3 December 2026Fixed date
New Year's DayInside the winter breakFri 1 January 2027Fixed date
Eid Al Fitr holidayListed in the Ministry of Education calendar (8–12 March 2027)Expected around 20 – 23 March 2027Expected — confirmed by moon sighting
Eid Al Adha holidayListed in the Ministry of Education calendar (15 – 18 May 2027), with Arafat Day expected 26 May 2027Expected around 27 – 29 May 2027Expected — confirmed by moon sighting
Islamic New YearListed in the Ministry of Education calendarExpected around 16 June 2027Expected — confirmed by moon sighting

Individual schools can shift non-fixed days slightly within KHDA's framework — always confirm the final dates with your own school. Check your school's own calendar on the KHDA academic calendar page, and read the Ministry's calendar itself: UAE Ministry of Education — Academic Calendar 2026–2027 (PDF).

Plan the school year with our guides

Dubai School Fees ExplorerWhat each curriculum really charges, from our own guides UAE Public HolidaysThe full 2026 & 2027 holiday list with its own countdown All DXB Talk education guidesAdmissions, curricula, fees and school choices across Dubai

New to Dubai schools?

Start with the money: the School Fees Explorer lays out every curriculum's real range, and our education guides walk you through admissions step by step.

Explore school fees Education guides