Leicester Secular Society calls for a ‘fixed’ Easter School holiday
This year the Easter weekend starts on 29 March, next year it will be 18th April and in 2026 it will be on 3rd April. This ‘moveable feast’ can vary by more than a month from March 22 at the earliest to April 25 at the latest. This variation in the length of school terms can play havoc in schools resulting in less time in school immediately prior to external examinations. In Leeds, the school Easter holiday has been fixed since 2010. The two week Easter holiday in Leeds has always taken place during the first two full weeks in April, regardless of when Easter falls on the calendar. Now the Welsh government is consulting on decoupling the school spring break from the Easter public holiday in Wales. It seems nonsensical that the school terms in Leicester and Leicestershire are structured around Christian observances. According to the 2021 census, Christianity is not the majority religion in either Leicester or Leicestershire (24.7% Leicester, 45.7% Leicestershire)