How many days until the start of the school year?

The new school year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland starts in the first week of September, with most schools opening for pupils on the Monday or Tuesday after an inset day. Scotland runs to a different calendar entirely — its pupils go back in the middle of August, a fortnight or more before their counterparts further south.

The weeks before are their own small season. Uniform shopping, shoes fitted a size up in the hope they last until Easter, name labels, PE kit, a new bag, and the reading list for anyone entering an exam year. Supermarkets stock uniform basics from July, and stationery aisles fill up while the holidays still have a month to run.

September also brings the transitions: reception classes starting for the first time, Year 7 pupils moving up to secondary and learning a bus route, and sixth formers beginning A-level courses. Term dates are set locally by councils and academy trusts, so two schools a few miles apart can differ by a couple of days.

This countdown uses the start of September as the general marker rather than one school's timetable, which makes it a way to pace the last stretch of the summer break. For an exact return date, the school's own published calendar is the thing to check.