UAE announces school calendar: Here are the holidays

The official academic calendar for the 2024-2025 academic year, published on the website of the Ministry of Education, indicates that the summer holiday for students in the UAE will commence on June 30. Meanwhile, the holiday for teaching and administrative staff will begin on July 14, following the release of re-examination results.

According to the calendar, third-term examinations will begin on June 10 and continue until June 19 for all grade levels in public and private schools following the ministry curriculum. Results will be announced between June 30 and July 2.

The calendar also notes that the third term spans 11 weeks, equivalent to 52 school days, out of the total 185 instructional days mandated for the academic year. Re-examinations are scheduled to take place from July 4 to 10, with results to be announced on July 14.

The new academic year (2025-2026) is set to commence on August 25. The winter break will begin on December 15 and continue until January 5, 2026, while the spring break will run from March 23 to April 13. All public and private schools implementing the ministry curriculum are required to meet a minimum of 182 instructional days, and the academic year may not conclude before June 26, 2026.

The Ministry of Education has also approved the timetable for the end-of-term (second session) examinations for adult education students in Grade 12 for the academic year 2024-2025, scheduled to be held from June 23 to July 3.

According to the approved timetable, students will sit examinations in seven subjects over approximately two weeks. Each exam will last two hours, running from 4pm to 6pm.

Examinations will commence on Monday, June 23, with mathematics, followed by English on Tuesday, June 24, and social studies on Wednesday, June 25. The physics exam will take place on Tuesday, July 1, followed by Arabic on Wednesday, July 2. Examinations will conclude on Thursday, July 3, with either biology or chemistry.

Academic calendar through 2025

The UAE Cabinet has approved the academic calendar for public and private schools following both the ministry and foreign curricula for the academic years 2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-2026. The aim is to establish a unified framework regulating school days and official holidays while allowing flexibility in implementation in accordance with the various educational systems in the country. The calendar stipulates that all schools in the UAE, regardless of curriculum, must adhere to a minimum of 182 instructional days or their equivalent in teaching hours.