10 reasons to know about school holidays in Europe

Every year, Eurydice publishes a special report on school calendars that shows how the school years in Europe are organised. The publication covers all European countries, showing when different school holidays start and end. Many people, especially parents, seem to find the publication very useful judging by the number of comments we receive. We’d like to share some of these comments, ranging from the enlightening to the bizarre. Perhaps you will also find a reason why you should know about school holidays in Europe!

1.            Know when your kids are going to be at home! Knowing these dates makes practical matters easier – like planning work holidays, and booking cheaper plane and train tickets in advance.

2.            Know why your kids have a day off! The publication covers other school-free dates such as religious or public holidays.

3.            Know when your kids go back to school! In some countries, the new school year begins on or around the same date every year. But in others it changes, or it may be up to regions or individual schools to decide.

4.            Avoid traffic jams! Need to drive through Germany in the summer? If so, did you know that every region (land) in Germany organises summer holidays at different times? Check when not to hit the road by finding out when schools in the different Länder are on holidays. 

5.            Let your children mix with the locals on holiday! Your kids (and you) can practise another language easily when mingling with kids from another country. But you'd better find out if the local kids are still at school.

6.            You want the beach to yourself! You'd better find out if the local kids are still at school.

7.            You need to renovate your house and want your children out of the way! Or alternatively you want them to help you? Either way, make sure you pick the right dates.

8.            Decide which country to move to! You are a teacher and are interested to see how long your holidays will be? The publication covers the start and end date of the teacher’s school year.

9.            Track changes over time! You’re a researcher tracking how much time is spent in schools in Europe? The yearly updates of this publication will make your task easier.

10.          Decide whether your children can watch the World Cup final! The World Cup final will take place on a Sunday evening in mid-July, finishing around midnight CET. In some parts of Europe, children will have to get up for school the next day. But what if their country has just won the World Cup? Ok, it probably won't happen, but in the future maybe FIFA should consult the publication.

Authors: David Crosier and Andrea Puhl