Netherlands School Holidays 2023 and 2024
This page contains a calendar of all 2023 and 2024 school holidays in the Netherlands. These dates are unlikely to be modified by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. However, please check back regularly for any updates that may occur.
School Calendar 2023-2024
| School Holidays | Starts | Finishes |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn Holidays (Central & South Regions) | 14 Oct 2023 (Sat) | 22 Oct 2023 (Sun) |
| Autumn Holidays (North Region) | 21 Oct 2023 (Sat) | 29 Oct 2023 (Sun) |
| Christmas Holidays | 23 Dec 2023 (Sat) | 7 Jan 2024 (Sun) |
| Spring Holidays (South Region) | 10 Feb 2024 (Sat) | 18 Feb 2024 (Sun) |
| Spring Holidays (Central & North Regions) | 17 Feb 2024 (Sat) | 25 Feb 2024 (Sun) |
| May Holidays | 27 Apr 2024 (Sat) | 5 May 2024 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (South Region) | 6 Jul 2024 (Sat) | 18 Aug 2024 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (Central Region) | 13 Jul 2024 (Sat) | 25 Aug 2024 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (North Region) | 20 Jul 2024 (Sat) | 1 Sep 2024 (Sun) |
School Calendar 2024-2025
| School Holidays | Starts | Finishes |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn Holidays (South Region) | 19 Oct 2024 (Sat) | 27 Oct 2024 (Sun) |
| Autumn Holidays (Central & North Regions) | 26 Oct 2024 (Sat) | 3 Nov 2024 (Sun) |
| Christmas Holidays | 21 Dec 2024 (Sat) | 5 Jan 2025 (Sun) |
| Spring Holidays (North Region) | 15 Feb 2025 (Sat) | 23 Feb 2025 (Sun) |
| Spring Holidays (Central & South Regions) | 22 Feb 2025 (Sat) | 2 Mar 2025 (Sun) |
| May Holidays | 26 Apr 2025 (Sat) | 4 May 2025 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (South Region) | 5 Jul 2025 (Sat) | 17 Aug 2025 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (North Region) | 12 Jul 2025 (Sat) | 24 Aug 2025 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (Central Region) | 19 Jul 2025 (Sat) | 31 Aug 2025 (Sun) |
Please visit rijksoverheid.nl for the original release of the 2023-2024 approved calendar and 2024-2025 approved calendar.
School holidays are divided into 3 regions:
- North Region – Province of Groningen (All municipalities), Province of Friesland (All municipalities), Province of Drenthe (All municipalities), Province of Overijssel (All municipalities), Province of Flevoland (All municipalities except Zeewolde), Province of Gelderland (Hattem), Province of Utrecht (Eemnes and the former municipality of Abcoude), and Province of North Holland (All municipalities)
- Central Region – Province of Flevoland (Zeewolde only), Province of Gelderland (Aalten, Apeldoorn, Barneveld, Berkelland, Bronckhorst, Brummen, Buren, Culemborg, Doetinchem, Ede, Elburg, Epe, Ermelo, Geldermalsen, Harderwijk, Heerde, Lingewaal, Lochem, Montferland (except the former municipality of Didam), Neder-Betuwe (except the former municipality of Dodewaard), Neerijnen, Nijkerk, Nunspeet, Oldebroek, Oost-Gelre, Oude IJsselstreek, Putten, Scherpenzeel, Tiel, Voorst, Wageningen, Winterswijk and Zutphen), Province of Utrecht (All municipalities except Eemnes and the former municipality of Abcoude), Province of South Holland (All municipalities), and Province of North Brabant Werkendam (except the communities of Hank and Dussen) and Woudrichem)
- South Region – Province of Gelderland (Arnhem, Beuningen, Doesburg, Druten, Duiven, Groesbeek, Heumen, Neder-Betuwe (only the former municipality of Dodewaard), Lingewaard, Maasdriel, Millingen aan de Rijn, Montferland (only the former municipality of Didam), Nijmegen, Overbetuwe, Renkum, Rheden, Rozendaal, Rijnwaarden, Ubbergen, Westervoort, West Maas & Waal, Wijchen, Zaltbommel and Zevenaar), Province of Zeeland (All municipalities), Province of North Brabant (All municipalities except Woudrichem and the communities of Sleeuwijk, Nieuwendijk and Werkendam in the municipality of Werkendam) and Province of Limburg (All municipalities)
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science sets the school holiday dates for primary, secondary and special education schools in the Netherlands each year.
The Ministry sets compulsory school holiday periods like Christmas (2 weeks), May holiday (1 week) and the summer holidays (6 weeks) which must be adhered to by primary, secondary and special education schools. The Ministry gives only advisory dates for the spring (1 week) and autumn (1 week) holiday. The arrangement is different for institutions of secondary vocational education (MBO) and higher education schools, which are free to set their own holiday dates each year, providing that all the study load requirements are met.
The school holiday dates varies across regions to distribute the peaks of holiday traffic. For instance, the start date of the 6-week summer holidays in the Netherlands is spread across 3 weeks – first week of July, second week of July and third week of July. As a result, schools in each region will have a different start date of the new school year.