School holiday schedule approved: When will students take breaks?

Lithuania has approved the school holiday schedule for the academic year, including separate spring breaks for older and younger students.

The later spring break for students in the third and fourth years of gymnasium was planned deliberately. The Education Ministry said students and teachers had pointed out that speaking components of exams should not take place during holidays. Holidays, it said, should give children time to rest, step away from studying and regain their strength, rather than become another exam week.

Under the arrangement, older students will take their exam speaking components while younger pupils are on spring break. They will then have their own spring holiday, allowing them to rest after the examinations.

The ministry acknowledged that different holiday periods could create additional planning issues for families. It said the priority was student well-being and a clearer, fairer rhythm between studying and time off. In previous years, when exams took place during the holiday shared by all students, older pupils could not rest with their families because they had to sit exams.

The arrangement, already in force last year, is intended to separate exam periods from student holidays and better balance the education process with students’ need for rest.