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The first long weekend of the school year will arrive in Madrid barely a month after returning to class
The return to school already has dates and its first break in sight. The 2026-2027 school year will begin in Madrid on 7 September for Early Years, Primary and Special Education, and just five weeks later a three-day long weekend will arrive thanks to the public holiday on Monday 12 October.
The return will be staggered. Students in compulsory secondary education (ESO), Bachillerato, Vocational Training, conservatoires and Official Language Schools will begin on Tuesday 8 September. Higher Artistic Education will start on Wednesday 9, while Adult Education centres will begin their activities on the 21st.
The first major shared break will be the National Holiday on 12 October. As it falls on a Monday, those who have the weekend free will be able to join Saturday 10, Sunday 11 and Monday 12 without using holiday days, just one month after getting back to early mornings, journeys to school and extracurricular activities.
November will bring another similar break. 1 November falls on a Sunday and the Community of Madrid moves the holiday to Monday 2, allowing another three-day weekend. For many families, it will be the second opportunity of the school year to organise a trip out of the capital or simply break the school routine.
December will offer an even longer long weekend. Monday 7 will be a public holiday because Constitution Day is being moved, and the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on Tuesday 8. Added to the preceding Saturday and Sunday, there will be four consecutive days without classes for a large proportion of Madrid's students.
The Christmas holidays will begin on Wednesday 23 December and continue until Sunday 10 January. Classrooms will reopen on Monday 11, leaving more than two weeks for festivities that again make up one of the major breaks in the school calendar.
February will have another pause shortly after the second term begins. The 12th and 15th will be non-teaching days, so students will be able to join four consecutive days without classes, from Friday to Monday. In March will come spring's longest break: the non-teaching Easter period will run from Friday 19 to Monday 29, both inclusive.
Most stages will finish classes on 18 June 2027. Until then, the calendar will alternate normal weeks with several long weekends capable of changing the rhythm of entire neighbourhoods: less traffic by schools, fuller parks and families organising getaways as soon as a Monday is marked red as a day off.