UAE school winter break 2026: 14 December to 3 January
UAE schools on the Ministry of Education calendar break for winter on 14 December 2026 and reopen on 4 January 2027. That is three weeks off. The calendar does not cover schools on Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani curricula, so if your child is in a CBSE or ICSE school, check your school’s own dates.
The official 2026-27 dates
The Ministry of Education calendar, announced in February 2026 for public and private schools, sets these dates for this school year:
| What | Dates |
|---|---|
| Mid-term break | 12 to 18 October 2026 (now over) |
| Winter break | 14 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 |
| Schools reopen | 4 January 2027 |
| Spring break | 5 to 11 April 2027 |
| Last day of the year | 2 July 2027 |
The Ministry also says schools must hold final assessments or finish the syllabus in the last week of each term, so children are expected to attend until the last school day.
Who the calendar does not cover
The Ministry states that this calendar does not apply to private schools following other curricula, such as Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani. So if your child is in a CBSE or ICSE school in Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi, the school sets its own holidays. Private schools in Sharjah also follow the emirate’s own rules on how the mid-term break is split.
Three weeks is a good stretch for language practice
A long break is when reading and speaking habits slip, and also when there is time to build them. Twenty minutes of spoken English or Hindi a day keeps a child’s ear tuned for January. If your child is in a CBSE school, the break is a good time to catch up on Hindi before the second term.
Our classes are live, online and 1-on-1, so they can run around family travel over the break. An AED 30 demo shows your child’s level before you commit.
Source: UAE Ministry of Education, academic calendar for 2026-2027 to 2028-2029, published 23 February 2026. Always confirm dates with your child’s school.
Swati Shukla, Founder, WizMantra Academy
Swati Shukla founded WizMantra Academy, which teaches English, IELTS, French, Spanish and Hindi through live 1-on-1 online classes, including for learners across the UAE. She writes our news updates.
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