Bahrain school calendar 2026-27: semesters, exams and holidays

First semester, 2026-27

Source: Bahrain Ministry of Education academic calendar guide 2026/2027, checked October 2026.

Second semester, 2026-27

Source: as above. The ministry notes that Hijri dates depend on the sighting of the crescent moon.

Government and private schools

This calendar is the Ministry of Education's for government schools and continuing education. Private schools in Bahrain, including the British, American, IB and Indian schools that most expatriate families and many Bahraini families use, publish their own term dates. They observe the national and religious holidays, but their term starts and breaks can differ from the ministry's. Check your school's own calendar before planning travel or lessons.

One date in the ministry calendar matters to everyone: the transfer window between private and government schools runs from 4 to 15 July 2027, for families planning a move next year.

What the exam weeks mean for students

For secondary students in government schools, the first-semester exams cross the turn of the year, starting on 21 December, after the National Day holidays, and finishing on 12 January. The second-semester exams take most of May, with the Eid al-Adha holidays in the middle, so May is effectively an exam month. Grades 9 and 12 also sit national exams somewhere between March and May.

For private-school students, the busy months are different: mocks before or after the winter break, then IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP exams from late April to June 2027.

Fitting tutoring into the Bahraini year

The two weeks of the mid-year break and the weeks of Ramadan are when families most often adjust their schedule. Online one-to-one lessons can continue at a lighter pace in the break, move to after iftar in Ramadan, and step up to two a week in the run-up to May exams. Lessons run in LiveTutor's online classroom, so no travel across Manama traffic is needed.