European Schools are official multilingual educational establishments jointly controlled by the governments of the European Union's Member States. The European Schools stick to centrally defined school summer holiday dates, which often differ from the state-run schools in each European School's locality. The European School summer holiday usually starts in early July and ends two months later in early September. In 2010, for example, the school summer holidays commenced on July 8 and ended on September 7. There are 14 European Schools following this summer timetable in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.
State-run schools in some European countries have school summer holidays that start in June and end in August. These countries include Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In 2010, the school summer holiday ran from June 26 until August 10 in Denmark, June 4 until August 2 in Finland, June 18 until August 21 in Norway and June 14 until August 20 in Sweden. The school summer holidays are shorter in these far northern European countries compared to others. This is because the spring and summer time is cooler than in southern European countries, making classrooms more bearable for children. The winters can be very cold and children sometimes cannot get into school, so working longer in milder periods makes sense for attendance purposes.
The school holidays in Belgium and Switzerland run from July to August, and school children tend to have the majority of those two months off school. In 2010, the Belgian school summer holidays ran from July 1 until August 31, while the school holidays in Switzerland ran from July 3 until August 29. Both countries enjoy relatively mild climates, with the hottest two months being July and August, which is primarily why children are kept away from warm classrooms during this time.
Some schools in Europe have their school summer holidays from July until early September. These include France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In 2010, the French summer school holidays ran from July 2 until September 1; in the Netherlands the holidays ran from July 10 until September 5; and in the United Kingdom they ran from July 22 until September 5. These countries enjoy mild climates, with July and August being particularly hot. The commencement of school again in September also coincides with parliament re-commencing.
Schools in southern European countries, which enjoy hotter climates, tend to have their school holidays from June until September. These countries include Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. In 2010, the Greek school summer holidays were from June 16 until September 10. In Italy the holidays were from June 7 until September 16, and in Portugal they ran from June 21 until September 15. In Spain the holidays started on June 18 and ended on September 12. Due to the very hot summertime weather, students in these countries tend to have longer summer holidays and shorter school holidays throughout the rest of the year.
