With the publication of the academic calendar for French-speaking schools, it is now possible for Belgian families to anticipate upcoming school holidays.
Whilst the Flemish calendar remains unchanged, the French-speaking calendar was reformed in September last year and now consists of 6-8 weeks of lessons followed by two weeks of vacation.
French-speaking schools
For French-speaking schools in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB), pupils will return to school on Monday 28 August. The first public holiday will be the French Community Day, celebrated on Wednesday 27 September. The Autumn holidays will last from Monday 23 October until Sunday 5 November.
The next public holiday is Armistice day on 11 November, which falls on the weekend this year. Winter holidays begin on Monday 25 December and will run until 7 January 2024. This is followed by Relaxation Leave (Congé de détente) will begin on Monday 26 February 2024 and run until 10 March 2024.
Easter Monday falls on 1 April 2024 this year, and the spring holidays begin on Monday 29 April until Sunday 12 May. Ascension is celebrated on Thursday 9 May 20204, and Whit Monday on Monday 20 May.
Finally, the summer holidays begin on Saturday 6 July, before the new school year starts again sometime at the end of August.
Dutch-speaking schools
In Flanders, the calendar has longer but less frequent holidays. The region’s official back-to-school day is on 1 September this year.
The first public holiday will be All Saints Day, which will run from Monday 30 October to Sunday 5 November. Like in the FWB, this is then followed by Armistice Day on Saturday 11 November.
The Winter holidays begin officially on Christmas Day (25 December) and end on Sunday 7 January 20204. Spring holidays (Krokusvakantie) starts on Monday 12 February and runs until Sunday 18 February.
The Easter holidays start on Thursday 1 April in Flanders and end on Sunday 14 April. This is followed by Ascension which is celebrated from Thursday 9 May until Friday 10 May. Whit Monday falls on 20 May, and the official start of the summer holidays is on 1 July, nearly a week before the FWB.
For booking holidays abroad for summer 2024, it is advisable to look for trips between 6 July and mid-August for the FWB and 1 July and late-August for Flanders.
