Staff return on Sunday 6 September. Pupils arrive in three waves: grade one alone on Sunday 13 September, all other stages on Monday 14 September, and kindergarten on Wednesday 16 September.
The staggered start is deliberate. Grade one comes in a full day ahead of everyone so the school is quiet, and kindergarten is last.
The rest of the year
- First-term exams: intermediate 20 to 28 December · grades ten and eleven 20 to 31 December · grade twelve 10 to 21 January 2027.
- Mid-year break: Sunday 24 January to Thursday 4 February 2027.
- Second term: begins Sunday 7 February 2027.
- End-of-year exams: intermediate 23 to 31 May · grade twelve 7 to 20 June 2027.
- Summer holiday starts: Monday 31 May for kindergarten and primary · Monday 5 July for intermediate and secondary, except those running exams.
A new detail about Ramadan
The last week of Ramadan is now an official holiday for pupils and staff. That is not our reading of it but what the ministry announced alongside the calendar.
Where these dates come from
These are not one year’s dates. On 1 September 2025 the minister of education, Eng. Sayed Jalal Al-Tabtabaei, issued a ministerial decision adopting a comprehensive educational calendar covering five academic years, which the ministry described as the first comprehensive calendar covering every education sector: general and religious education, special education, adult education and literacy.
So the 2026 and 2027 dates have been known for roughly a year, and did not wait on an August announcement.
One point worth being clear about
The calendar page on the Ministry of Education website still shows last year’s calendar at the time of writing. The tables for the coming four years are published in files reached through codes in the ministry’s official post on X.
So the dates are official and adopted, but getting to them is harder than it should be. We would advise any parent to confirm a date with their child’s school before booking travel or a holiday, since the calendar can be amended by ministerial decision, as has happened more than once in recent years.
Further reading: Ministry of Education: decision adopting the educational calendar, 1 September 2025 · the ministry’s post with the four-year tables · the calendar page on the ministry site
Photo: a notebook and glasses on a desk. By Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Kuwait One, once a week.
The most useful stories we published this week, in your inbox.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
