Bracknell Forest term dates for 2026/27 and 2027/28, and where Brakenhale, Garth Hill, King's Academy, Ranelagh and Edgbarrow differ, INSET days included.
Bracknell Forest Council sets one calendar for the schools it maintains, and every secondary school in the borough we checked departs from it somewhere. Brakenhale takes a two-week October break. Ranelagh finishes for half term on a Thursday, four days before everyone else. Garth Hill, Edgbarrow and Sandhurst all keep the council’s weeks but bolt training days on to the ends, so their pupils return from Christmas on 5 or 6 January rather than the council’s 4 January. Wellington College, the independent school in Crowthorne, sends pupils home for Christmas a full week before the state schools. This page sets out the council’s dates for 2026/27 and 2027/28, then the differences school by school, all taken from the schools’ own published calendars on 25 September 2026, with the two King’s Academy schools added on 3 November.
The quick answer
Bracknell Forest’s 2026/27 year runs from Wednesday 2 September 2026 to Wednesday 21 July 2027, with the October half term on Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, the last day before Christmas on Friday 18 December, and the spring term starting Monday 4 January 2027. Those dates bind only the schools the council maintains. Of the borough’s secondaries, Brakenhale breaks from Monday 19 October, Ranelagh from Thursday 22 October and Wellington College from Saturday 17 October; Garth Hill and Ranelagh have a training day on Monday 2 November, so their pupils go back on Tuesday 3 November; and Edgbarrow and Sandhurst train on 4 and 5 January, returning on Wednesday 6 January.
Updated 3 November: both King’s Academy schools now publish their dates. Binfield and Easthampstead Park pupils have a training day on Friday 4 December and another on Friday 5 February, and their summer term runs to Friday 23 July 2027, two days after the council’s.
Bracknell Forest Council’s dates for 2026/27
The council’s published calendar, which applies to the schools it maintains (Bracknell Forest Council, term dates):
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn 2026 | Wednesday 2 September (INSET day Tuesday 1 September) | Monday 26 to Friday 30 October | Friday 18 December |
| Spring 2027 | Monday 4 January | Monday 15 to Friday 19 February | Thursday 25 March |
| Summer 2027 | Monday 12 April | Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June | Wednesday 21 July |
The Christmas holiday is Monday 21 December to Friday 1 January. The spring holiday is Friday 26 March to Friday 9 April, with Good Friday and Easter Monday on 26 and 29 March. The May bank holidays fall on 3 May and 31 May, the second inside half term. The council notes that individual schools set their own training days on top of these.
The council’s dates for 2027/28
Already published, for anyone planning a year ahead (Bracknell Forest Council, term dates):
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn 2027 | Thursday 2 September (INSET day Wednesday 1 September) | Monday 25 to Friday 29 October | Friday 17 December |
| Spring 2028 | Tuesday 4 January | Monday 14 to Friday 18 February | Friday 31 March |
| Summer 2028 | Tuesday 18 April | Tuesday 30 May to Friday 2 June | Friday 21 July |
The Christmas holiday runs Monday 20 to Friday 31 December 2027, with Monday 3 January 2028 a bank holiday, and the spring holiday runs Monday 3 to Thursday 13 April 2028, with Good Friday and Easter Monday on 14 and 17 April.
School by school: where 2026/27 differs
Bracknell Forest’s secondaries publish their own calendars, and the differences are real. Here is the autumn and spring picture for each of them.
| School | First day for all pupils | October half term | Other autumn INSET | Last day before Christmas | Back in January |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bracknell Forest Council | Wed 2 Sept | 26 to 30 Oct | None set | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| Garth Hill College | Thu 3 Sept | 26 to 30 Oct | Mon 2 Nov, Fri 27 Nov | Fri 18 Dec | Tue 5 Jan |
| Ranelagh School | Mon 7 Sept (Year 7 from Thu 3 Sept) | Thu 22 to Fri 30 Oct | Mon 2 Nov | Fri 18 Dec | Tue 5 Jan |
| Edgbarrow School | Thu 3 Sept | 26 to 30 Oct | Fri 27 Nov, Mon 30 Nov | Fri 18 Dec, 12.05pm | Wed 6 Jan |
| Sandhurst School | Thu 3 Sept | 26 to 30 Oct | Fri 27 Nov, Mon 30 Nov | Fri 18 Dec, early close | Wed 6 Jan |
| Brakenhale School | Fri 4 Sept (Years 7 and 12 from Thu 3 Sept) | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | None | Fri 18 Dec | Tue 5 Jan |
| King's Academy Binfield | Wed 2 Sept | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct (INSET 19 to 21 Oct) | Fri 4 Dec | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| King's Academy Easthampstead Park | Thu 3 Sept (Years 7 and 12 from Wed 2 Sept) | Mon 19 to Fri 30 Oct | Fri 4 Dec | Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Jan |
| Wellington College | Tue 1 Sept (new pupils Mon 31 Aug) | Sat 17 Oct to Sun 1 Nov | Not applicable | Fri 11 Dec | Mon 11 Jan |
Garth Hill College trains on 1 and 2 September, 2 November, 27 November and 4 January, so term starts on Thursday 3 September, pupils return from half term on Tuesday 3 November and from Christmas on Tuesday 5 January. Its spring and summer dates match the council’s, ending Wednesday 21 July (Garth Hill College, term dates).
Ranelagh School staggers the start, with Year 7 alone on 3 and 4 September and everyone in on Monday 7 September. Its half term starts on Thursday 22 October, two days early, and a training day on Monday 2 November stretches it to eleven days. Spring starts Tuesday 5 January after a training day. Its summer term ends on Friday 16 July, three school days before the council’s date, with training days on 19 and 20 July (Ranelagh School, term dates).
Edgbarrow School in Crowthorne closes at 12.05pm on the last day of each term. Its training days are 1 and 2 September, 27 and 30 November, and 4 and 5 January, so pupils return from Christmas on Wednesday 6 January (Edgbarrow School, term dates). Edgbarrow and Sandhurst are both in the Corvus Learning Trust and their calendars match.
Sandhurst School has the same pattern: INSET on 1 and 2 September, 27 and 30 November and 4 and 5 January, term starting Thursday 3 September and January starting on Wednesday 6 January, with early closures on 18 December, 25 March and 21 July (Sandhurst School, term dates).
Brakenhale School takes a two-week October break, Monday 19 to Friday 30 October, as do the two King’s Academy schools. It trains on 1 and 2 September, 4 January and 12 April, and its summer term ends on Friday 16 July with the holiday starting Monday 19 July (Brakenhale School, term dates 2026/27, PDF).
Wellington College runs three terms with a fortnight’s half term in each. Michaelmas ends Friday 11 December, Lent runs Monday 11 January to Thursday 25 March with half term Friday 12 to Sunday 21 February, and the summer term runs Monday 19 April to Friday 2 July with half term Saturday 29 May to Sunday 6 June. Boarders also get weekend leave on 26 to 28 September and 20 to 23 November (Wellington College, college term dates).
King’s Academy Binfield takes a two-week October half term, Monday 19 to Friday 30 October, and its first three days are training days. Its other training days are Tuesday 1 September, Friday 4 December and Friday 5 February. Spring term starts Monday 4 January, with half term from 15 to 19 February. The summer term runs from Monday 12 April to Friday 23 July 2027, with half term from 31 May to 4 June. The trust says one more training day will be added next year (King’s Academy Binfield, term dates).
King’s Academy Easthampstead Park has the same two-week October break and the same holidays. Years 7 and 12 started on Wednesday 2 September and everyone else on Thursday 3 September. Its training days are 1 September, 4 December and 5 February, and its summer term also ends on Friday 23 July 2027 (King’s Academy Easthampstead Park, term dates).
Primary schools
Primary schools set their own training days too, and the council’s calendar lists none of them. Check your school’s own page before booking anything for the first week of September, the day after half term, or the first week of January, which is where the differences above all fall.
More Bracknell information
- Bracknell October half term: the dates by school and what is on that week
- Bracknell Christmas trains and travel
- Bracknell council tax bands
- Things to do in Bracknell
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