<P> In Northern Ireland, most schools' summer vacation starts in late June and runs through to the beginning of September . Students doing exams (GCSE and A-Levels) often get "Study - Leave" from May and do the exams sometime in that month, or early June . Schools also have a two - week break for Christmas and Easter as well as several Bank Holidays as well as a week off for Mid Term in Mid February . Some schools, generally integrated, or Catholic, also get time off for St. Patrick's Day in March . Protestant schools don't usually get this day off . </P> <P> In the United Kingdom, holiday dates for schools in the independent sector mostly differ from those of schools in the state sector and these differences typically take the form of an extra week's holiday at the beginning and end of each of the long vacations meaning four weeks for the Christmas and Easter breaks and eight to ten weeks for the summer break but variations in summer vacation length exist between the independent schools themselves . In addition, all schools in the United Kingdom have three week - long half - term breaks for each of the three terms including one in the autumn term at the end of October, one in the spring term in mid-February and one in the summer term in late May although these breaks do not always coincide with the state school breaks in Autumn ans Spring terms . The summer half term break is determined by the break in public exams at the end of May . Some universities grant an extended "Exam - Leave" to students which typically commences in early April, so as to give students a good number of weeks to prepare for the summer exam season which usually starts in mid to late May and finishes at the end of their final exam which usually takes place in early or mid-June . Final - year students at independent schools typically finish their time at their school the moment their final exam in the summer exam season finishes and as an encore a special event is usually arranged for late June by the school for the leavers and staff as a way of providing an opportunity for final farewells to be bid . The universities they go on to typically schedule their first term to commence in early October giving school leavers an extended summer break between their time of leaving school and starting at university . </P> <P> In the United States, summer vacation lasts two to three months . The dates vary depending on the location of the school district, with two major formats . One is from mid June to early September (in most northern states), the other major format lasting from late May to mid August (in most southern and western states). (Excluding some districts, as some schools may end late June and begin early September). </P> <P> Summer vacation or break lasts for about 12 weeks, starting anywhere from late May to mid June, and ending anywhere from late August to Labor Day, the first Monday in September . This often depends on the region--for example, most schools in the Northeastern United States end in June and start the Wednesday after Labor Day (Teachers report back on Tuesday), while the majority of schools in the Southern United States have schools end in May and start again in August . </P>

When does summer break start for elementary schools
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