October half term is 26 to 30 October and every school breaks up on 18 December. Vandyke returns a day early on 4 January and finishes on 16 July, not 21.

Leighton Buzzard’s October half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, and schools break up for Christmas on Friday 18 December. Those are Central Bedfordshire Council’s dates, and every Leighton Buzzard school we checked keeps them. The differences come in January and July: Vandyke Upper School goes back a day earlier than the council’s calendar, and both upper schools finish the summer five days before it.

The quick answer

  • October half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, at the council’s schools and at Cedars, Vandyke, Gilbert Inglefield and Leighton Middle.
  • Christmas: last day Friday 18 December 2026. Most schools return on Tuesday 5 January 2027; Vandyke returns on Monday 4 January.
  • Summer ends Wednesday 21 July 2027 on the council’s calendar, but Friday 16 July at Cedars and Vandyke.

Central Bedfordshire’s term dates for 2026/27

These are the dates Central Bedfordshire Council publishes for the schools it maintains. (Central Bedfordshire Council, school term and holiday dates)

Term Starts Half term Ends
Autumn 2026 Thursday 3 September Monday 26 to Friday 30 October Friday 18 December
Spring 2027 Tuesday 5 January Monday 15 to Friday 19 February Thursday 25 March
Summer 2027 Tuesday 13 April Tuesday 1 to Friday 4 June Wednesday 21 July

The gaps between those terms carry a few details worth knowing:

  • schools are closed up to and including Monday 4 January 2027, so the Christmas holiday runs from Saturday 19 December to that Monday
  • Friday 26 March and Monday 29 March 2027 are bank holidays, and the Easter holiday then runs from Tuesday 30 March to Friday 9 April
  • Monday 12 April 2027 is a teacher training day, so pupils go back on Tuesday 13 April
  • the early May bank holiday is Monday 3 May 2027
  • the spring bank holiday is Monday 31 May, and Monday 7 June 2027 is another teacher training day, so the summer half term is effectively a week and a day

The council is clear that these dates are not binding on every school. Its page says term dates “may vary for all other types of schools (VA, Foundation or Academy)”, and that schools “can choose when the required 5 training days take place”. In Leighton Buzzard that covers most of the schools parents actually use.

Where the local schools differ

We checked the published calendars of the two upper schools and two of the middle schools on 25 September 2026.

Christmas: last day Back in January Summer: last day Extra closures to note
Council calendar Fri 18 Dec Tue 5 Jan Wed 21 Jul Training days Mon 12 Apr, Mon 7 Jun
Vandyke Upper School Fri 18 Dec Mon 4 Jan Fri 16 Jul Training day Mon 12 Apr
Cedars Upper School Fri 18 Dec Tue 5 Jan Fri 16 Jul Training day Mon 4 Jan, Mon 12 Apr
Gilbert Inglefield Academy Fri 18 Dec, 12.30pm finish Tue 5 Jan Wed 21 Jul, 12.30pm finish Training day Fri 27 Nov, Mon 4 Jan, Mon 12 Apr
Leighton Middle School Council calendar Council calendar Council calendar Two training days taken as twilight sessions

Vandyke Upper School

Vandyke’s spring term “begins: Monday 4 January 2027”, a day before the council’s date, and its summer term ends on Friday 16 July 2027. The summer half term is Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June, with Monday 12 April a staff training day and students back on Tuesday 13 April. The October and February half terms match the council’s. (Vandyke Upper School, term dates)

Cedars Upper School

Cedars runs autumn from Thursday 3 September to Friday 18 December 2026, spring from Tuesday 5 January to Thursday 25 March 2027, and summer from Tuesday 13 April to Friday 16 July 2027. Its training days are Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 September 2026, Monday 4 January, Monday 12 April and Monday 19 July 2027. (Cedars Upper School, term dates)

Gilbert Inglefield Academy

The middle school on Vandyke Road has one closure no other calendar here shares: Friday 27 November 2026 is a staff training day, “school closed to learners”. That is also the evening the town’s Christmas lights are switched on. Gilbert Inglefield finishes at 12.30pm on the last day of each term: Friday 18 December, Thursday 25 March and Wednesday 21 July. It also closes for training on Monday 4 January and Monday 12 April. (Gilbert Inglefield Academy, term dates)

Leighton Middle School

Leighton Middle lists its training days for 2026/27 as Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 September 2026, and says two more will be taken “as twilight sessions throughout the year”, so they will not close the school. It notes that its training days “may differ from those published in the Local Authority Academic Year Calendar” and publishes an amended calendar alongside the council’s. (Leighton Middle School, term dates)

Lower schools

Leighton Buzzard’s lower schools are a mix of council-maintained schools and academies. Maintained schools follow the council’s calendar above; academies set their own training days. Check your own school’s newsletter or website before booking anything around a Monday or a Friday at the start or end of a term.

Looking ahead: 2027/28

The council has already published the following year. The autumn term 2027 starts on Wednesday 1 September, the October half term is Monday 25 to Friday 29 October 2027, and schools break up for Christmas on Friday 17 December 2027. The summer term ends on Friday 21 July 2028.

What is still to be confirmed

Brooklands Middle School publishes its 2026/27 dates as a download rather than on the page, and the town’s lower schools each set their own training days. This page will add them school by school, and it will be rechecked before the October half term.

For the week itself, see our October half term in Leighton Buzzard page for what is on locally.