Hong Kong school holidays 2026: a parent's reference

Hong Kong public holidays 2026

Hong Kong observes 17 public holidays a year, the most generous public-holiday calendar of any major global city. The 2026 schedule:

ESF term dates 2025-26 and 2026-27

The English Schools Foundation, which operates 22 schools in Hong Kong including five secondary schools, sets a unified term calendar across all campuses. The 2025-26 second half and 2026-27 calendar:

ESF schools include Beacon Hill, Bradbury, Clearwater Bay, Glenealy, Kennedy, Kowloon Junior, Peak, Quarry Bay, Sha Tin Junior, Sha Tin College, South Island, West Island, King George V and Discovery College. Calendar variation across the 14 campuses is minimal.

International school calendars

Outside ESF, Hong Kong's international schools work to a range of calendars depending on their curriculum and national tradition. British curriculum schools (Harrow Hong Kong, Nord Anglia, Kellett, Shrewsbury) align closely with ESF. American curriculum schools (Hong Kong International School, American School Hong Kong, Hong Kong Academy) follow a semester model with breaks aligned to US Thanksgiving and Memorial Day where practical. French International School (FIS) follows the French national academic calendar with shorter half-terms but the same overall length. German Swiss International School follows a Swiss-aligned calendar with longer winter and shorter summer breaks. Chinese International School (CIS) operates an IB-led calendar close to ESF with adjustments for IB Diploma exam timing.

The practical implication: if you are choosing between two schools for the same child, the calendars matter for family logistics. A British and an American Hong Kong school can diverge by two weeks at summer break. For curriculum comparison see our British vs American curriculum guide.

Local Hong Kong school calendar

Local DSS (Direct Subsidy Scheme) and government schools follow the Education Bureau (EDB) academic year. For 2025-26, schools resume in early September and finish in early or mid-July. Chinese New Year break is the longest mid-year break, often a full week including the public holiday days. Easter and summer are shorter than the international calendar, generally two weeks at Easter and six weeks in summer.

For families weighing local-stream Hong Kong schooling against international, the calendar difference is one of several practical factors. Local schools also typically operate longer school days (8.00am to 3.30pm), with substantial homework loads and tutoring patterns that add to the after-school commitment. The longer school day partially offsets the shorter summer break in terms of total instructional hours. International school families wanting structured holiday cover during the longer summer should look at our summer school 2026 international guide for programme options inside and outside Hong Kong.

Planning travel around the calendar

Three planning observations. First, Chinese New Year in 2026 falls Tuesday 17 February, making the public holiday plus the surrounding weekend a natural six-day travel window. Flights spike; book by November. For the cultural context see our Chinese New Year and schools piece. Second, Easter 2026 falls early (5 April), which means the spring break in international schools is the first or second week of April. This sits nicely against UK and European school Easter calendars. Third, the autumn half term in late October aligns with most northern hemisphere half terms; flights to the UK and Europe price up by mid-September.

For a deeper read on the Hong Kong family experience and school choice see our Hong Kong city guide.

Related guides

• Chinese New Year and schools 2026
• Singapore school holidays 2026
• Hong Kong city guide