Barcelona school calendar 2026/27: when classes start and when the holidays will be

This year, Early Years, Primary, Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate will start on the same day: Tuesday 8 September 2026. Vocational Training and other types of education will have different dates.

These are the main dates that Barcelona families should bear in mind when organising the coming school year.

When do classes start in Barcelona in 2026?

On 8 September 2026, classes will begin for pupils in:

first cycle of Early Years Education;

second cycle of Early Years Education;

Primary Education;

Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO);

school institutes;

Baccalaureate;

Basic Vocational Training.

Therefore, for most schoolchildren in Barcelona, Tuesday 8 September will be the first day of class after the summer holidays.

In intermediate- and higher-level Vocational Training, as well as in PFI, IFE and preparatory courses, classes will begin on 14 September 2026.

Arts and Design courses and other artistic and sports education programmes must begin no later than 14 September.

At adult education centres and classrooms and at Official Language Schools, the school year will begin no later than 21 September 2026.

Christmas holidays 2026/27

School Christmas holidays in Barcelona will begin on 22 December 2026 and end on 7 January 2027, both days inclusive.

This means that the last day of the holidays will be Thursday 7 January and classes will resume after this festive period.

It will be the longest school break of the first half of the school year and will cover Christmas, New Year and Epiphany.

When will Easter be in 2027?

The 2027 Easter holidays will run from 20 to 29 March, both inclusive.

Pupils will thus have ten consecutive days without classes within the official calendar.

Easter will arrive earlier in 2027 than in other school years, so families planning to travel during these dates can already take this period into account when organising their holidays.

When does the 2026/27 school year end in Barcelona?

For pupils in the second cycle of Early Years, Primary, ESO and school institutes, classes will end on 21 June 2027.

In the first year of Baccalaureate, the last day will be 17 June 2027.

In the second year of Baccalaureate, the end date will depend on the centre's programme and the calendar for university entrance examinations.

In the first cycle of Early Years, Catalonia's general calendar sets the last working day of June as the reference. However, Barcelona's municipal escoles bressol have their own calendar: for the 2026/27 school year, activities for pupils will begin on 8 September 2026 and end on 9 July 2027.

For Vocational Training and other types of education, the end date will depend on the relevant programme.

School calendar 2026/27 in Barcelona: key dates

These are the most important dates of the coming school year:

8 September 2026: start of Early Years, Primary, ESO, Baccalaureate and Basic Vocational Training.

14 September 2026: start of intermediate- and higher-level Vocational Training, PFI, IFE and preparatory courses.

22 December 2026 – 7 January 2027: Christmas holidays.

20 – 29 March 2027: Easter holidays.

17 June 2027: end of classes for the first year of Baccalaureate.

21 June 2027: end of the school year for the second cycle of Early Years, Primary and ESO.

9 July 2027: end of activities for pupils at Barcelona's municipal escoles bressol.

Public holidays and discretionary days

To the Christmas and Easter holidays must be added the national, regional and local public holidays in Barcelona that fall on school days.

In addition, each educational centre may establish up to four discretionary days during the school year. This means that two schools in Barcelona may have a different non-teaching day even though they share the general calendar.

For this reason, families should also check the specific calendar of their school or institute before organising trips or activities.

A calendar set several years in advance

The 2026/27 calendar is part of a new plan approved by the Departament d'Educació i Formació Professional of the Generalitat. For the first time, the calendars for three school years have been established together: 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29.

The measure makes it possible to know the start and end dates of the school year and the main holiday periods further in advance.

For the 2026/27 school year, the date that will mark the return to classrooms in Barcelona will be 8 September. The Christmas holidays, from 22 December to 7 January, and then the Easter holidays, from 20 to 29 March, will follow. For most pupils in compulsory education, the school year will end on 21 June 2027.