Schools in England and Wales break up in the third week of July, starting a summer holiday of roughly six weeks that runs into September. Scotland and Northern Ireland finished at the end of June, so by the middle of July 2026 the whole of the United Kingdom is on holiday at the same time — the only point in the year when that is true.
Outside Northern Ireland, the 31 days of July 2026 contain no public holiday at all, so the working-day count comes down to the weekends alone. Northern Ireland subtracts one day for the 12th, which is the third distinct working-day total the four nations produce over the course of a year.
July 2026 runs to 31 days and opens the second half of a year of 365 days. The tax year that began in April is a third of the way through, and the school year that ended this month does not resume until September in most of the United Kingdom.
Cookie policy