Schools across the UAE will finish their 2025-2026 academic year on July 3, 2026. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Schools across the UAE will finish their 2025-2026 academic year on July 3, 2026. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Schools across the UAE will finish their 2025-2026 academic year on July 3, 2026. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Schools across the UAE will finish their 2025-2026 academic year on July 3, 2026. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

UAE announces new calendar for public and private schools


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The UAE school and universities calendar for the 2025-2026 academic year was announced on Wednesday.

The calendar, which applies to all public and private schools and universities in the UAE, sets unified dates for the start of the academic year, the end of the three terms and end of term breaks.

The new structure was announced separately by the Ministry of Education, for schools, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, for universities.

August 25 marks the start of the academic year, with the end of the school year pencilled in for July 3, 2026.

The winter break will be from December 8 to January 4, 2026. Spring break will be from March 16 to March 29. For private schools in Sharjah, the spring break will be from March 16 to March 22.

Mid-term breaks

The new calendar also specifies mid-term breaks for public and private schools.

These run from:

  • October 13-19, 2025
  • February 11-15, 2026
  • May 25-31, 2026

Building social cohesion

Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of Education, said the new calendar serves as a strategic national tool, reinforcing both educational quality and social cohesion.

She also noted that consistent holiday dates will enable community, cultural and tourism entities to align their programmes with the academic schedule, strengthening the link between education and society.

The ministry has allowed private schools that do not follow the government’s curriculum to schedule mid-term breaks in October and February, with each break not exceeding five consecutive days.

These breaks must remain within the specified months and cannot be extended or shifted, ensuring alignment with the national calendar while accommodating schools’ operational needs.

The ministry also stressed that all schools must follow the approved calendar, including holding final assessments or completing curriculum requirements in the last week of each term, to ensure pupils attend until the last school day.

This excludes pupils taking pre-scheduled international exams.

The Matrix Resurrections

Director: Lana Wachowski

Stars:  Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick 

Rating:****

About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

Results

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)

5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi

6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle

6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi

Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Types of policy

Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.

Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.

Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.

Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.

While you're here
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry

Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm

Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

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Updated: July 24, 2025, 6:20 AM`