The school calendar in Spain

IF you are looking at education and schools in Spain, you may be wondering what the calendar looks like and the school holidays that take place.

It’s important to remember that the school calendar varies from school to school as well as varying between private and state schools. Another factor to keep in mind are the public holidays, ferias and fiestas that vary from region to region in Spain, of which there are quite a few!

The School Calendar

Private schools in Spain can set their own calendar and timetables, however, they tend to start the academic year in the first week of September, whereas state schools usually start a few days later.

In general, the Spanish school year starts in September, like schools in the UK, and fin ishes at the end of June. The first school holi day period is Christmas, which ends on Three Kings Day (The Epiphany) on January 6. There follows Semana Blanca at the end of February.

The next holiday period after this is Easter break, which falls on a different date each year in March or April. The Easter break usually lasts around one to two weeks.

The summer holidays start around the end of June and end at the beginning of the new school year in September. They last for around 10 weeks, which is much longer than schools in many other countries.

Schools and local towns announce the holiday dates well in advance, giving parents plenty of time to plan. Regional government websites will usually provide a school calendar for each province and private schools will provide students and parents with the calendar in advance.

The general idea of the school holidays in Spain consists of the winter holidays which are typically in the last week of December and the first week of January. The Easter holidays which are typically in the last week of March and the first week of April, and the summer holidays which are typically in July and August.

Public Holidays

On the Costa del Sol, 12 public holidays have been confirmed by the Junta de Andalucia for 2023. In addition to the national holidays, such as January 6 (Epiphany) and April 6 (Easter Thursday), Andalucia Day on February 28 was also a public holiday.

The national holidays across Spain this year will be Good Friday on April 7, Labour Day on May 1, Day of the Assumption of the Virgin on August 15, National Holiday of Spain on October 12, All Saints’ Day on November 1, Constitution Day on December 6, Immaculate Conception Day on December 8 and Christmas Day on December 25.

Because New Year falls on a Sunday, the national holiday was moved to January 2.

The full list of public holidays on the Costa del Sol this year, which means schools will be closed, is as follows: January 2 (Monday), January 6 (Friday), February 28 (Tuesday), April 6 (Thursday), April 7 (Friday), May 1 (Monday), August 15 (Tuesday), October 12 (Thursday), November 1 (Wednesday), December 6 (Wednesday), December 8 (Friday), and December 25 (Monday).

You can visit juntadeandalucia.es for the original release of the 2022-2023 approved calendar.

Dow Jones