West Lothian Council: Pupils will still enjoy one week holiday in February

In the past the winter mid-term week has angered some parents, who complained that the weather is too bad for holidays, and others worried about the impact on teenagers doing prelims.

But parents who work out with West Lothian planning holidays ahead will also have to wait until neighbouring authorities confirm their dates.

Only Glasgow and the Borders has provided local education officers with proposed timetables for 2025/26. And both have their holidays a week behind West Lothian.

The west Lothian dates are: Term 1, Wednesday, August 13, 2025; September weekend Thursday, 18th – Tuesday 23rd; Term 2: October week Friday 17th- Tuesday 28th; Christmas Friday, December 19. Term 3, Monday, January 5, 2026; February Holiday Friday 6th – Tuesday 17th. Term 4, Easter March 27 - April 14; May Day Monday 4th/Tuesday 5th; End of Term, Friday, June 26, 2026.

Hannah Haywood, a customer service manager told a meeting of the the Education Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel: “As usual the dates we do know about so far differ from one another so itwon’t be possible to set holidays which coincide with all neighbouring authorities.

“The proposed session dates are in line with policy and similar to previous sessions. Consultation has taken place on the proposed dates and a small number of responses received. There was noconsensus in the comments, with some welcoming the week in February and others in favour of a longer summer or October holiday.

“One parents group commented that for the September weekend a Monday and Tuesday off would be better than the proposed Friday/ Monday as they felt having two short weeks could possibly impact on attendance.”

She added: “A pupil group commented that community religious festivals were not equally represented in the dates, but the proposed dates are really set around national bank holidays.”

The dates will be formally agreed at the next meeting of the Education Executive.