In different countries school year is different. In most countries, the academic year begins in September and ends in May. In Southern Hemisphere countries, this means that the academic year lasts from February or March to November or December; in Northern Hemisphere countries, it lasts from August or September to May, June or July.
Australia
In Australia, the school year lasts from late January to early December, and is split into four terms:
- Term 1 starts in late January or early February and ends one or two weeks before Easter
- Term 2 starts one or two weeks after Easter and ends in late June.
- Term 3 starts in mid-July and ends mid-September.
- Term 4 starts in early October and ends mid-December.
The exact dates vary from year to year.
Brazil
In Brazil, due to the Law of Directives and Bases of Brazilian Education, the academic year must have 200 days, both at schools and at universities. The school year usually begins during the first week of February. There is a 3-week long winter break in July. The Brazilian school year ends in December, summer in Brazil.
Canada
Generally in Canada, high schools have a two-semester school year, also known as fall and spring semester, the first semester starting from September to mid-January and the second running from early February until June. The semesters are often divided into two terms each. Some schools in Canada run on a trimester system, the first running from September to January, the second from January to March, and the third from March until June. The trimester is more common in elementary and middle schools (K-8) than in high schools (9-12). In Canada the school year for elementary and high school consists of 190 days.
Germany
The school year in Germany runs from September to next September and includes four to six breaks/holidays:
- Christmas Break: Two weeks around Christmas and New Year
- ' Carnival Break: One week or two weeks (only in a few states) of February or the beginning of March.
- Easter Break: Two weeks of March / April
- Whitsun Break: About one week around Whitsun
- Summer Break: Six weeks from July to September
- Autumn Break: One week or two weeks in October/November[1]
Due to Germany's federal structure, all breaks may differ depending on the state. The exact dates for the beginning and the end of school breaks are kept different state by state and changed every year. This is meant to keep holiday traffic as low as possible.
The school year is mostly divided into two parts (September - February & February - July). There is not necessarily any break between those two parts, but pupils get a semi-year school report (it only displays their current level and is not relevant for promotion).
India
In elementary and high school, the school year is usually from June to April, while in Universities it is from August to April. There is a mid year break during summer, usually from mid of May to end of July. There is also a winter vacation of 2 weeks at the end of the year.
Russia
The school year in Russia traditionally starts on 1 September—The Knowledge Day—and lasts until 25 May which is also known as The Last School-Bell day for the graduates. The school year is divided into four terms, or 'quarters', separated by one- or two-week holidays (the first week in November, the first two weeks in January, and the last week of March). School summer holidays last for three months: June, July, and August.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the school year is generally divided into three terms running from autumn to summer. The school year consists of 195 days of which there are 190 teaching days and 5 INSET teacher training days. The structure of the school year varies between the constituent countries of the United Kingdom with school holiday dates varying between local education authorities.
United States
Primary and secondary schools
In the United States, the academic year for most K–12 institutions typically consists of two 18-week semesters, each divided into two nine-week marking periods (or quarters) or three six-week marking periods, and typically constituting 180 instructional days. An instructional week is five instructional days, measured Monday–Friday at most public and private schools; Sunday–Thursday at some Jewish private schools; Saturday–Wednesday or Sunday–Thursday at Muslim private schools; and so on. Grades are usually reported per marking period, but major examinations are given per semester or per year.
The traditional start date for the school year has been the day after Labor Day (the first Tuesday after the first Monday in September), but many schools now start in the last two weeks of August and some schools (especially private ones) may start as late as the end of September or the first week in October. There are also some schools, especially in the southern tier of the United States, that begin at the end of July and early August. The school year ends 31 instructional weeks after it begins. Also, some schools are now moving to the first Wednesday in September (usually two days after Labor Day, unless it falls on September 1 or 2) to allow a short week as people adjust to being in school again.
School holidays, which are not counted as instructional days, typically include Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Friday (two days although many systems take the Wednesday and/or the following Monday off as well), a winter break beginning on or before Christmas Eve through the day after New Year's Day (about 10 days), Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, Presidents' Day, spring break during the Western Christian Holy Week and sometimes the day after Easter (five or six days), and Memorial Day. Some schools also observe one or more of Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, Lincoln's Birthday, Washington's Birthday, and other state or local holidays. Some schools have additional holidays for students that are workdays for the staff, such as parent–teacher conference days. The aggregate of school holidays typically amounts to 20 days, so an academic year that starts the last week of August or first week of September will typically finish the second or third week of June. Schools that start in July or early August end in middle to late May.
(Based on Wikipedia materials)
