Schools usually divide their year into three 'terms', starting at the beginning of September.
| Autumn term | Christmas holiday (about 2 weeks) | Spring term | Easter holiday (about 2 weeks) | Summer term | Summer holiday (about 6 weeks) |
In addition, all schools have a 'half-term' (= half-term holiday), lasting a few days or week in the middle of each term.
The older children get, the more likely they are to be separated into groups according to their perceived abilities, sometimes for particular subjects only, sometimes across all subjects. But some schools teach all subjects to 'mixed ability' classes. The rights and wrongs of this practice have generated heated debate for several decades and there is great variety from school to school and area to area.