British Terms

[David]

No: HPFGUIDX 72379

Kathryn wrote:

> The third term (Summer) is always short
> and is usually taken up by revision and exams. I would have called 
the terms
> Winter, Spring and Summer not Fall, Winter and Spring - and since 
Hogwarts
> is in the UK repeat after me "The season is called Autumn, not 
fall" :)

I seem to remember them being called Autumn, Spring, and Summer, in 
a pathetic attempt to disguise the English climate.  It's not 
entirely stupid since winter straddles two terms so is ambiguous - 
indeed the coldest part of the year falls in the Spring term.
> 
> I'm a little shaky on how long the holidays should be precisely 
since uni
> hols are longer - but you are roughly right yes. Oh except I think 
school
> break up in July not the end of June.

It works more or less like this in schools in the state system:  6 
weeks summer hols, 2 weeks each Christmas and Easter, three one-week 
half-term holidays, of which the summer one was once Whitsun 
(Pentecost), leaving 39 weeks to be split between three terms.  The 
Autumn term would be about 14 weeks, and the other two would depend 
on the timing of Easter.  If Easter is very early (straight after 
the equinox) it would be placed at the beginning of its two week 
holiday, and if very late (end of April), at the end, but that still 
gives quite a range of dates that the holiday would fall.  The 
summer holiday begins roughly a week before the end of July.

Hogwarts is different though, as term appears to end in June.  The 
Lexicon will of course give dates for all the holidays each year.  I 
think some independent schools have longer holidays.

David