📍 Public & Bank Holidays →
- Local holiday variants.
- Bank Holidays.
- Regional proclamations.
🎓 School →
- Autumn, Spring, and Summer.
- One-week "half-term" break.
📈 Market →
- London Stock Exchange (LSE).
- Half-Day Trading.
Understanding UK Holiday Types
The UK organizes its calendar into three primary types of holidays: public holidays (known as "bank holidays"), financial market holidays, and academic school holidays. Because the UK is made up of four nations, exact dates vary depending on whether you are in England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
Public & Bank Holidays
In the UK, statutory public holidays are called bank holidays because they historically marked days when banks were closed. If a bank holiday falls on a weekend, a substitute weekday (usually the following Monday) becomes the official day off.
School Holidays
UK schools run on a three-term system (Autumn, Spring, and Summer), with a one-week "half-term" break in the middle of each term and longer breaks between terms. Exact dates are set by local council authorities, meaning schools a few miles apart might have slightly different schedules.
Market Holidays
Financial market closures mostly mirror the public holiday schedule of England and Wales, as the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is located in London.