Do you want to book a holiday over the coming year? If so, you may need to check the school holiday dates for Suffolk and Essex.

Most holiday dates are the same in both counties for the coming year - including the autumn half term, which was different in 2019.

If you're a parent of school-age children, or if you are planning any holidays including children in your group, you will need to check when the holiday dates are for the coming year before making any bookings.

However, even if you don't have children of school age, you may still want to check the dates - so that you can take your holiday at a different time to benefit from non-premium rates and avoid the crowds.

School holidays in 2020

The general dates for both Suffolk and Essex holidays are given below. However, you will need to check the exact dates with your children's school before you make a definite booking, because holiday dates can differ.

Academies, foundations and free schools are among the schools which are likely to have different dates.

Schools also have five non-pupil days for staff training, and the dates for these may vary at different schools.

Christmas holiday 2019-20: Friday, December 20, 2019 to Friday, January 3, 2020.

Spring half term: Monday, February 17 to Friday, February 21

Easter holiday: Suffolk: Friday, April 3 to Friday, April 17

Essex: Monday, April 6 to Friday, April 17

May half term: Monday, May 25 to Friday, May 29

Summer holiday: Suffolk: Thursday, July 23 to Monday, August 31. However, Tuesday, September 1 and Wednesday, September 2 are recommended non-pupil days in the county, so these will be added on to the end of the holiday for many schools, with the first day back being September 3.

Essex: Thursday, July 23 to Tuesday, September 1.

Autumn half term: Monday, October 26 to Friday, October 30.

Christmas holiday: Monday, December 21, 2020 to Friday, January 1, 2021.