Music Service term and holiday dates
Find term and holiday dates for Suffolk County Music Service's (SCMS) lessons, activities and events.
More information about our calendar can be found at the bottom of this page. Click the + icon to expand the menu.
Autumn term 2020
September - October
Tuesday 1 September Suffolk County Council (SCC) start of autumn term and SCMS Non-teaching day
Wednesday 2 September Non-teaching day
Thursday 3 September and Friday 4 September Non-Pupil Days
Monday 7 September first possible teaching day for SCMS
Monday 5 October closing date for SCMS Exams
Tuesday 8 September – Friday 16 October Suffolk Youth Music: Area Activities (6 weeks)
Saturday 12 September – Saturday 17 October Suffolk Youth Music: County Music Schools (6 weeks)
Friday 23 October Non-Pupil Day
Monday 26 October – Friday 30 October Autumn half term
November - December
Tuesday 3 November – Friday 27 November Suffolk Youth Music: Area Activities (4 weeks)
Saturday 7 November – Saturday 28 November Suffolk Youth Music: County Music Schools (4 weeks)
Friday 4 December – Saturday 5 December SCMS Exams
Friday 18 December SCC end of autumn term
Spring term 2021
January - February
Please note that Suffolk Youth Music activities up until the February half term will not be happening due to the current lockdown. An update will be given at half term on whether these can resume after this date.
Monday 4 January SCC start of spring term and first possible teaching day for SCMS
Tuesday 5 January – Friday 12 February Suffolk Youth Music: Area Activities (6 weeks)
Saturday 9 January – Saturday 13 February Suffolk Youth Music: County Music Schools (6 weeks)
Monday 18 January Closing date for SCMS Exams
Monday 15 February – Friday 19 February Spring half term
February - March
Monday 22 February Non-Pupil Day
Tuesday 23 February – Friday 12 March Suffolk Youth Music: Area Activities (3 weeks)
Saturday 27 February – Saturday 13 March Suffolk Youth Music: County Music Schools (3 weeks)
Friday 19 March – Saturday 20 March SCMS Exams
Friday 26 March SCC end of spring term
Summer term 2021
April - May
Monday 12 April SCC start of summer term and first possible teaching day for SCMS
Tuesday 13 April – Friday 28 May Suffolk Youth Music: Area Activities (7 weeks)
Saturday 17 April – Saturday 29 May Suffolk Youth Music: County Music Schools (7 weeks)
Monday 10 May Closing date for SCMS Exams
Monday 31 May – Friday 4 June Summer half term
June - July
Tuesday 8 June – Friday 2 July Suffolk Youth Music: Area Activities (4 weeks)
Saturday 12 June – Saturday 3 July Suffolk Youth Music: County Music Schools (4 weeks)
Monday 21 June – Friday 25 June WCET Festival events
Tuesday 6 July, Friday 9 July and Saturday 10 July SCMS Exams
Friday 16 July last possible teaching day for SCMS
Monday 19 July Non-Pupil Day
Tuesday 20 July SCC End of Summer Term and SCMS non-teaching day
More information
Non-teaching days for Suffolk County Music Service
Suffolk County Music Service (SCMS) uses school term dates as determined and published by Suffolk County Council, however in order to take account of SCMS Non-Pupil Days, SCMS Examination Days and the requirements of schools, the SCMS Calendar differs slightly from those operated by schools.
Some dates are SCMS non-teaching days on which the Music Service is not in session, even though schools are in session.
Non-Pupil Days for Suffolk County Music Service
Although we have tried to avoid it, these may occur on days that are normal pupil days for some schools, and schools should note that on these occasions Suffolk County Music Service Tutors, whether full- or part-time, are not available to teach.
Suffolk Youth Music: County Music School dates
Suffolk Youth Music (SYM) County Music Schools meet on 30 occasions during the year.
The dates referred to on our calendar are for the:
- Saturday Music Schools at Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich;
- Lowestoft County Music School, takes place on Fridays.
Visit the Suffolk Youth Music pages for more information.
Suffolk Youth Music: Area activity dates
Suffolk Youth Music Area Activities, such as Youth Orchestras and Bands, meet on 30 occasions during the year.
This includes District activities, such as Sudbury and Great Cornard Bands. There are different activities from Tuesdays through to Fridays.
Visit the Suffolk Youth Music pages for more information.
Suffolk County Music Service instrumental exams
WCET Festival
County Music Groups
Suffolk Youth Orchestra, Suffolk Youth Wind Orchestra, Suffolk Young Strings and Suffolk Youth Choir.
Visit the County Music Groups page for the calendar dates for Suffolk Youth Music County Music Groups.