School Terms and Vacations

The academic year 2025-2026

• The academic year starts on Aug. 6, 2025.
• Fall vacation Oct. 13, 2025 – Oct. 17, 2025.
• Christmas vacation: Dec. 20, 2025 – Jan. 6, 2026.
• Winter vacation Feb. 16, 2026 – Feb. 20, 2026.
• Good Friday, April 3, 2026, and Easter Monday, April 6, 2026, are holidays.
• May Day, May 1, 2026, is a holiday.
• Ascension Day, May 14, 2026, is a holiday.
• The academic year ends on May 29, 2026.

The academic year 2026-2027

• The academic year starts on Aug. 13, 2026.
• Fall vacation Oct. 12, 2026 – Oct. 16, 2026.
• Christmas vacation: Dec. 23, 2026 – Jan. 6, 2027.
• Winter vacation Feb. 22, 2027 – Feb. 26, 2027.
• Good Friday, March 26, 2027, and Easter Monday, March 29, 2027, are holidays.
• Ascension Day, May 6, 2027, is a holiday.
• The academic year ends on June 4, 2027.

Pre-primary education hours and holidays follow school hours. However, there are no Saturday working days in pre-primary education. Children participating in pre-primary education have the right to early childhood education during pre-primary education.

The academic year 2025-2026, basic schools and upper secondary schools

• The academic year starts on Aug. 6, 2025.
• Fall vacation Oct. 13, 2025 – Oct. 17, 2025.
• The Finnish Independence Day on December 6, 2025, is a holiday.
• Christmas vacation: Dec. 20, 2025 – Jan. 6, 2026.
• Winter vacation Feb. 16, 2026 – Feb. 20, 2026.
• Good Friday, April 3, 2026, and Easter Monday, April 6, 2026, are holidays.
• May Day, May 1, 2026, is a holiday.
• Ascension Day, May 14, 2026, is a holiday.
• The academic year ends on May 30, 2026.

Schools will inform of any exceptions to their working hours and vacations in their own bulletins.

The academic year 2026-2027, basic schools

• The academic year starts on Aug. 13, 2026.
• Fall vacation Oct. 12, 2026 – Oct. 16, 2026.
• Christmas vacation: Dec. 23, 2026 – Jan. 6, 2027.
• Winter vacation Feb. 22, 2027 – Feb. 26, 2027.
• Good Friday, March 26, 2027, and Easter Monday, March 29, 2027, are holidays.
• Ascension Day, May 6, 2027, is a holiday.
• The academic year ends on June 5, 2027.

Schools will inform of any exceptions to their working hours and vacations in their own bulletins.

The academic year 2026-2027, upper secondary schools

• The academic year starts on Aug. 12, 2026.
• Fall vacation Oct. 12, 2026 – Oct. 16, 2026.
• Christmas vacation: Dec. 21, 2026 – Jan. 6, 2027.
• Winter vacation Feb. 22, 2027 – Feb. 26, 2027.
• Good Friday, March 26, 2027, and Easter Monday, March 29, 2027, are holidays.
• Ascension Day, May 6, 2027, is a holiday.
• The academic year ends on June 5, 2027.

The academic year begins on August 1 and ends on July 31. Each student's work and vacation times and graduation are determined by a personal study plan.

There are 190 workdays in a school year. If Independence Day, Epiphany or May Day fall on a weekday other than Saturday, they are deducted from the school year's workdays. The Education Committee decides every October-November on the day school work begins, as well as on the times for school-year vacations and individual days off.

The fall term begins in August and ends in December, before Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. Days off from school during the fall term consist of a few days’ fall vacation and the Finnish Independence Day on December 6.

The spring term begins in January, on the first workday after Epiphany, and ends in the spring, on the Saturday in week 22. The spring term has a one-week winter vacation in week 8, as well as Easter vacation in March-April. Additional days off are May Day, May 1, and Ascension Day.