School Holidays in the United Arab Emirates 2025-2026

This publication covers school holidays in the United Arab Emirates for 2025-2026. We will provide the official dates for summer, winter, and spring breaks in the UAE. We will also indicate the dates of public holidays during which schools will be closed. If you use this information on your website, please link to this publication on ALYO.info.

Table of Contents

Useful information

Beginning in 2010-2011, the United Arab Emirates transitioned to a trimester-based system of education. Accordingly, there are three main break periods and three additional breaks during the academic year:

Summer holidays.
Winter holidays.
Spring break.
Semester holidays in the first, second and third semesters.

In addition to school holidays, students have time off on public holidays. Typically, there are four to eight such days during the school year. All holidays in the United Arab Emirates are celebrated according to the Islamic calendar. Therefore, their dates are constantly changing in the generally accepted Gregorian calendar.

The government sets public holiday dates one year in advance. Below are the approved school closure dates. This information will be checked and updated periodically.

Possible deviations from the UAE school holiday calendar for 2025-2026

There are two types of schools in the United Arab Emirates: public and private. Public schools must adhere to the academic schedule set by the Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates. Private schools may or may not follow the Ministry of Education’s curriculum.

Private schools that do not use the Ministry of Education’s program may implement mid-semester breaks only in October and February. However, each break period must not exceed five consecutive days and must not extend beyond the established timeframe.