We call them all "half term" here..

[Acc0untant]

And apparently I'm unreasonable. I see comment after comment about "it's not half term, that happens half way through each term" but ever since I was a child I, and everyone I know, calls each holiday a half term other than summer and Christmas. My parents and the parents of my friends (bearing in mind I'm in my 30s) have always done this.

Is it regional? I'm in the midlands. It's not just students/parents here, teachers use it this way, our school communications. Not even just my experience with one school, it was the same at my secondary school, my daughter's primary and secondary, my other child's nursery etc.

For us this is because we have a holiday after every half of a term, not that the holiday is half way within the term.

I appreciate that this wasn't the original intention of the phrase but at what point do we accept it's fine to use? Same as staycation originally meaning to do day trips from home rather than a UK holiday, it's now been used for both for so long that it's colloquially acceptable for both meanings.

Please no bun fights, I can't be bothered. I appreciate the pedantry with things such as this (and I can be that way with other stuff) but I'd really just like a nice, chilled conversation about it.

Do you say half term for almost all holidays? What region are you from? Would enjoy seeing if there's a correlation.

Also, schools call the different sections within that: Autumn 1&2, Spring 1&2, Summer 1&2 to state when things will happen eg Sports day will be in Summer 2

Probably goes to show it's developing via generation rather than region then. I don't think I've ever actually used the word staycation but if the dictionary says it can mean both I won't argue with the people who write the dictionary 😂 even if it's not what it's always meant

Omg I am from Scotland and grew up/went to school there. How embarrassing for me 😂

I've clearly spent too much time in England now!

I didn't say there was an advantage but it doesn't change the fact it's happened. If you say you're going on a staycation I don't know if that means Centre Parcs in Suffolk or sleeping in your own bed and doing a theme park, zoo and museum trip that week.

Doesn't change the fact the dictionary now recognises both as correct uses.

Becuase the Spring Bank Holiday is the official name for the bank holiday on the last Monday of May.

This is an example of how knowing what things mean and using terms correctly leads to people understanding what one another are talking about without having to ask further questions.

Nope. I'm in the Midlands too and we've always said Summer/Christmas/Easter holidays, and the ones in between, half term, because that's what they are, given the school year (round here anyway) is split into 3 terms.

It's to drop the word Easter, just like Christmas is being phased out. I'd bet that there are many kids who have no idea what Easter is, apart from chocolate eggs.

Dictionaries reflect usage, they don't dictate it. If people stop using a word wrongly, dictionaries will reflect that as well.

You know there's nothing remotely official about this, yes, and it's just individuals using an incorrect word? Why do you think people like the OP are conspiring together to eliminate talk of Easter?

Half term literally means half way through the term. So how can it possibly be "half term" at Easter, which is the holiday between the Spring term and the Summer term.

To me it's always been 3 terms (Autumn, Spring, Summer)
Three holidays (Christmas, Easter, Summer)
Three half terms (October half way through the Autumn term, February half way through the Spring term and May half way through the Summer term.)

If the Easter holiday is a half term - what term is it half way through?

I don't think this is regional or dialect, I think it's simply people getting it wrong.

So at what point is something classed as accepted usage? A la staycation.

And what if your school has 6 terms?

Yes. NE of England when at school and always blackberry week. I used to love picking them.

Again, the people who write the dictionary are not making value judgements, or setting future meaning, just reflecting current usage. If a word is used wrongly a lot of the time, a dictionary will include that, because whoever is looking it up might have encountered that usage.

I can see the benefit of differentiating between 1 week breaks (half term) and 2/6 week breaks (Xmas, Easter, Summer) but everyone went to school so they know what the situation is whatever the terms used, really.

It's just another 'Dinner, tea or supper' or a 'what do you call a bread roll' thing really, isn't it?

We enjoy a little bicker over regional quirks in the UK!

It’s the context. Because people don’t care, they say half-term. It is lazy and they don’t have to think. We live in a time where we celebrate ignorance. I blame those hair adverts where they reference the ‘sciencey bit’.

When everyone gives up and just accepts it, and the language grows poorer as a result as shades of nuance and meaning are lost. There's no central authority.

I am a teacher. I only call the October, February and May weeks off “half-term”. The others I refer to as Christmas, Easter and Summer. I think it’s regional-maybe just Midlands. The term “Whitsun” to refer to the May half-term is falling out of use.

They don't. They have 3 terms separated into 6 half terms. If they're calling each half term a "term" then that is also wrong.

The end of the Autumn term is “Christmas holidays”, the end of Spring term is “Easter Holidays and the end of Summer term ( which we are about to enter, on return to school) is the “Summer holidays”. The weeks off in late October, mid February and end of of May are half-terms

I'd second this, Christmas, Easter and Summer are named, the others are half terms. NW based

both of my schools in london did this

Then using "half term" makes even less sense.

Just call it "the school holiday" or "holiday".
(Not sure why people trying to avoid saying "the Easter holidays", would use "half term" rather than just "holidays" tbh.)

Actually, my friend works in a higher education college and they do discourage the staff from using religious connotations for the holidays...they mandate that they use 'Spring Break', 'Winter Break'. So its happening somewhere...official or otherwise.

What are the new six terms called? I've not heard of this.