Summer holidays in the UK amongst the shortest in the world!

As the summer holidays come to an end this week, many mums and dads may be breathing a sigh of relief as their little ones return to school. If you’ve felt that the school holidays have been more than long enough, count yourself lucky – summer holidays in the UK are significantly shorter than in other European countries and much of the world.

Are the school holidays too long?

While entertaining children for six weeks may seem like a challenge, the break given to children in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland is only two weeks longer than the shortest summer holiday. In Bangladesh and Nepal, children are given only four weeks summer holiday – the shortest school holidays in the world!

The longest holiday is enjoyed by children in Egypt, who are off school for up to five months.

Not far behind this is the 14 week break taken by little ones in Canada, Russia and Malta. Closer to home, children in Ireland can also get up to 14 weeks off during the summer months.

In Europe, summer holidays differ significantly in each country. In France, children have up to eight weeks’ holiday, while in Italy the summer holidays can last up to three months.

Similarly to Britain, children in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands all enjoy six weeks of freedom during the summer months.

While school holidays in Britain are amongst the shortest, it is the quality of the break that is important. Summer holidays are a time when children can have fun with their families and experience learning outside the school gates.

We hope everyone had a fantastic summer holiday and enjoyed spending quality time together. Best of luck to all the little ones going back to school this week!