Helsinki school holidays 2026

Finnish public holidays 2026

Every Helsinki school closes on Finland's national public holidays. Several of them move with Easter; the rest are fixed.

May Day, or Vappu, on 1 May is one of the biggest public celebrations of the Finnish year and falls just after the spring term is well underway. Midsummer in late June lands squarely inside the summer holiday, so it rarely affects the school calendar, but it shuts the city down for a long weekend.

Helsinki term dates 2025-26 and 2026-27

The City of Helsinki publishes the term dates for its comprehensive schools and general upper secondary schools. The 2025-26 year splits into an autumn term with a single October break and a spring term with a February sports holiday. The headline dates are below.

The 2026-27 calendar is already published by the city. The autumn term runs from Wednesday 12 August to Saturday 19 December 2026, the autumn holiday from 12 to 16 October 2026, the Christmas holiday from 21 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, and the winter holiday from 22 to 26 February 2027, with the spring term ending on Saturday 5 June 2027. Individual principals may shift one working day, so confirm with the specific school.

International school term dates

Helsinki's international schools, including the International School of Helsinki and the English and German language streams at several city schools, set their own term dates aligned to their home curriculum rather than the city calendar. British-pattern schools run three terms with two half terms, IB schools follow a close variant, and the few American-pattern programmes use two semesters.

The biggest divergence from the Finnish public schools is at either end of the year. International schools generally take a longer two-week Christmas break and a shorter summer, often starting in mid August and finishing in mid June, where the city schools start in early August and break up at the end of May. They keep a February break broadly in line with the Finnish sports holiday week, which keeps families across both systems on a similar ski rhythm. All of them still close on the Finnish national public holidays in the table above. To weigh the different programmes read the curriculum guide.

Planning the year

Three practical notes for Helsinki families. First, the February sports holiday is the prime domestic ski and Lapland travel window, and flights north and to the Alps are booked up well in advance, so plan that week by the autumn. Second, the long summer break from the end of May to mid August is unusually generous by European standards, which makes Helsinki attractive for extended home visits but means childcare cover over a long stretch needs early thought. Third, the autumn break in mid October is a cheaper, quieter travel window than the February peak. For the cost of living, residence and visa context behind a move read the Finland country guide, and to compare districts and schools return to the Helsinki city guide.

Common questions

When do schools break up in Helsinki for summer 2026? City schools finish the spring term on Saturday 30 May 2026, so summer begins at the start of June. International schools usually finish a little later, in mid June.

How long is the summer holiday in Helsinki? The Finnish summer break runs from the end of May to the second week of August, about ten to eleven weeks. The next year starts on 12 August 2026.

When is the sports holiday in Helsinki in 2026? The winter or sports holiday (talviloma) runs from Monday 16 to Friday 20 February 2026, a single week.

When does the 2026 to 2027 school year start in Helsinki? The autumn term begins on Wednesday 12 August 2026 and runs to Saturday 19 December 2026.

Do international schools in Helsinki follow the Finnish calendar? No. They set their own term dates aligned to their curriculum but still close on Finnish national public holidays.

Related guides

• Helsinki city guide
• Stockholm school holidays 2026
• London school holidays 2026