Saudi Arabia announces school timings for the summer
Back-to-school season is officially upon us
After a rejuvenating Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr break, students, teachers, and professors alike are back at school and university today, and on different timings too. These are the new Saudi school summer timings 2026.
Announced by the General Directorate of Education in the Riyadh region via X (formerly Twitter), the new Saudi school summer timings 2026 will mark an earlier start to the school day. Previously, during Ramadan, the timings were changed to a 9am start time.
#التوقيت_الصيفي |
يستأنف طلاب وطالبات #تعليم_الرياض الدراسة غدًا الأحد 10 شوال 1447هـ، مع انطلاق الفصل الدراسي الثاني، بعد إجازة عيد الفطر المبارك. pic.twitter.com/H8ptO7rNwa— إدارة تعليم الرياض (@MOE_RYH) March 28, 2026
For summer, schools will begin with a morning assembly at 6.15am, with the first period beginning at 6.30am. This differs from the pre-Ramadan, winter school schedule which begins with the morning assembly at 6.45am, followed by the first class at 7am.
Key dates in the second semester
- Eid Al-Adha holiday: Friday May 22 to Monday June 1
- Beginning of the summer holiday: Thursday June 25
The academic year finally ends with the summer holiday beginning on Thursday June 25, 2026. According to the calendar, the 2026-2027 key academic dates have also been announced. Students will be going back to school on Sunday August 23, 2026.
This academic year marks the return to the two-year academic system
Unlike other academic years, the 2025-2026 academic year has seen schools in Saudi Arabia return to the previous two-year semester after four years of the three-semester system. The Ministry of Education’s three-semester experiment has achieved several gains, especially in increasing the number of school days to 180 days per year, which is in line with international standards according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and with the systems of the G20 countries, in which the number of school days ranges between 180 and 185 days and in some cases reaches 200 school days.
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