Summer break to begin in UAE schools on July 4

Students of JSS Private School Photo: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

UAE students, many of who are currently sitting final exams, now have just a little over three weeks left before schools close on July 4 for the long summer break.

They will then return to class some two months later on September 1.

The Ministry of Education and Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority have already published the school calendar on their websites, www.moe.gov.ae and www.khda.gov.ae, respectively.

The school calendar is currently in its third and final term for schools following the ministry’s curriculum (all public schools and some private schools) as well as the majority of international curriculum private schools.

For Indian and Pakistani schools, which start their new academic year in April (rather than September), it is their first term. The KHDA notes their summer break starts on June 30.

Schools in the UAE follow a unified calendar — but they are allowed to adjust dates for school opening, closing and holidays by a small margin as long as they maintain the number of required schools days, which is just a little over 180 days every year.

June marks the start of final term exams that are held for all or most of the month. However, smaller grades in some schools had already started holding the exams in the last week of May, right before the Eid Al Fitr public holiday, which this year totalled nine days, including two regular weekends.

Many families decided not to travel for the Eid holiday and use the break to revise for the exams.

With the overwhelming majority of expats studying in private foreign-curriculum schools (mainly UK, India, IB and US), the long summer break provides ample opportunity to visit their home countries or other holiday destinations.

Many families also enjoy ‘staycations’ in the UAE and send children to “summer camps” where they enjoy various activities and sports.