Will schools open in the summer holidays in the UK?

8 February 2021, 15:47 | Updated: 8 February 2021, 15:48

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Primary and secondary school children have been forced to miss out on months of education over the past year.

While lessons are still being taught online and classrooms are open to vulnerable students, the majority of the population have been homeschooling their kids.

There have been reports that the government is planning on extending the school term to help children catch up over summer. Here’s everything you need to know…

Will schools open in the summer holidays?

It has not been confirmed whether schools will be open during the school holidays this year.

Reports have recently suggested Boris Johnson is considering the option of extending the term during the period pupils would ordinarily be on their six week break.

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This would see schools kept open an extra two weeks, keeping pupils in class until the first week of August. These plans would only apply to England, as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own lockdown rules.

According to The Times, classrooms could be instructed to keep doors and windows open in a bid to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading.

Robert Halfon, the Tory chairman of the Education Select Committee, told the publication: "We have to reform the school year.

“There has to be change; things cannot carry on the way they did pre-Covid. From my discussions with No10, everything is up for debate.”

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Exact dates can vary for the school holiday depending on your area, however school summer holidays in England usually begin from around 22/23rd July 2021 and last around six weeks.

Other ideas to help children catch up include extended school days and after-school programmes run by charities and volunteers.

The Government has not commented on any plans to reduce summer holidays, but they said: “We will invest a further £300million in tutoring programmes, building on the existing £1billion Covid Catch-Up Fund, but the Prime Minister has been clear that extended schools closures have had a huge impact on pupils’ education, which will take more than a year to make up.

“The Government will work with parents, teachers and schools to develop a long-term plan to make sure pupils have the chance to make up their lost education.”

This comes as Mr Johnson gets ready to set out his roadmap out of lockdown 3 in England on February 22.

The Prime Minister has said schools will not open until at least March 8.

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