Oxfordshire's half term is 26 to 30 October, but Abingdon's independent schools break on 16 October. Pumpkins, a circus, steam trains and fireworks near town.

October half term for Abingdon’s state schools is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Children at the town’s big independent schools are off for two weeks, from 16 October, and two Cambrian Learning Trust schools keep pupils at home until Tuesday 3 November. Below are the confirmed dates, then the things that are actually on that week near Abingdon, taken from each organiser’s own website on 25 September 2026.

The quick answer

  • Oxfordshire County Council’s half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, with most schools back on Monday 2 November.
  • Abingdon School, St Helen and St Katharine and Radley College break on Friday 16 October; Larkmead and King Alfred’s Academy pupils return on Tuesday 3 November.
  • The biggest family draw this week is Millets Farm at Frilford, which runs a pumpkin patch, an evening pumpkin trail and a Halloween circus through the week.

Who is off when

The county’s dates are on its school term dates page. John Mason School and Fitzharrys School follow them exactly for October. Larkmead School lists Friday 23 October as a training day and Monday 2 November as a whole-staff day with the school closed to students (Larkmead term dates). King Alfred’s Academy in Wantage ends Term 1 on Wednesday 21 October, has training days on 22 and 23 October, and a trust development day on 2 November (King Alfred’s term dates).

The full school-by-school table, including Christmas, is on our Oxfordshire school term dates page.

What is on

1. Pick your own pumpkins, Millets Farm, Frilford

Millets Farm Centre on Kingston Road, Frilford (OX13 5HB), west of Abingdon, opens its pumpkin patch at weekends from 3 October and daily from Thursday 22 October. Its pumpkin page gives these times and prices:

  • Off-peak entry £4 a person (field only): 3 and 4 October 10am to 3pm, 10 and 11 October 10am to 4pm, 22 October 10am to 4pm.
  • Peak entry £5 a person, with timetabled entertainment and story times: 17 and 18 October, and Friday 23 to Friday 30 October, 9am to 4pm.
  • Saturday 31 October, 9am to 3pm, is a dog-friendly day.
  • SEND sessions from 9am to 10am on Sunday 11 October and Monday 26 October.

Under-twos go free. Pumpkins cost £1 to £10 each on top of entry, and there is a £1 booking fee online.

2. Pumpkins by Night, Millets Farm

The farm’s evening event runs Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October and Friday 23 to Friday 30 October, 5pm to 9.30pm, last entry 7.30pm. It is a woodland trail with live actors, then a lit pumpkin patch with food trucks, rides and live music. Tickets are £15.99 online or £16.99 on the door for adults and children alike. The farm recommends it for ages 8 and over and says it is “NOT a scare night” (Pumpkins by Night).

3. Bippo’s Halloween Circus, Millets Farm

Bippo the Clown brings a circus to a big top in the farm’s events field from Sunday 25 to Saturday 31 October, with shows at 10.30am, 1pm and 3.30pm daily. Tickets are £11.99 online, £12.99 on the door; under-twos sit on a lap for free. Shows last about an hour, there are no animals, and the farm says it suits children over three (Bippo’s Halloween Circus).

4. Spooktacular Discos, Sprouts Play Barn

Millets also lists Halloween discos in its indoor play barn on its Halloween page. Dates and times were not on the page on 25 September; they are sold through the farm’s booking site.

5. Steam days, Didcot Railway Centre

Didcot Railway Centre, the Great Western Society’s museum by Didcot Parkway station, lists its next steam days as Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, Wednesday 28 October and Saturday 31 October, with unlimited rides behind GWR steam locomotives. Last admission is 2.30pm on all open days (Didcot Railway Centre). Book ahead through the centre’s site.

6. 1984, Abingdon Drama Club, Sutton Courtenay

Not one for small children, but on in half term week: Abingdon Drama Club stages George Orwell’s 1984, adapted by Nick Hern, at All Saints Church, Sutton Courtenay (OX14 4AE), where Orwell is buried. Performances are Wednesday 28 to Saturday 31 October at 7.30pm. Tickets are £15, £12 concessions, from The Bookstore at 15 Bury Street, Abingdon (Abingdon Drama Club).

7. Faringdon fireworks, Saturday 31 October

The half term ends with the first big display in the Vale. Faringdon Town Council’s fireworks are in the grounds of Faringdon House on Saturday 31 October, gates 6pm, display 7pm. The council says further details will follow (Faringdon Town Council). Abingdon’s own display at the airfield is a fortnight later: see our fireworks page.

8. Toddler Tunes and a folk lunchtime, Wantage

The Vale and Downland Museum in Wantage lists no half term programme yet, but its calendar has the Greengage folk band playing a free lunchtime set on Friday 23 October, 12.30pm to 1.30pm, the day the county’s term ends. The museum is open 9.30am to 3.45pm, Monday to Saturday.

Before half term: two Abingdon events

Two big events fall in the fortnight before half term, which matters to families already off from 16 October. The Runaway Fair follows the Michaelmas Fair a week later; see our Michaelmas Fair page. The Abingdon Marathon is on Sunday 18 October and closes roads across the town that morning; see our marathon road closures page.

Still to be announced

The Vale of White Horse District Council published a round-up of free and low-cost half term activities for 2025 but had not published one for 2026 by 25 September. Oxfordshire’s libraries and Abingdon County Hall Museum had no half term sessions listed either. We will add them when they appear, around the middle of October.

Travelling into town that week? See parking in Abingdon and roadworks and travel.

Frequently asked questions

When is October half term 2026 in Abingdon? Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 for schools on Oxfordshire’s calendar. Larkmead and King Alfred’s Academy pupils return on Tuesday 3 November; Abingdon School, St Helen and St Katharine and Radley College break from Friday 16 October.

How much is pumpkin picking at Millets Farm? Entry is £4 off-peak or £5 at peak times, including 23 to 30 October, and each pumpkin costs £1 to £10 on top. Under-twos go free.

Is Pumpkins by Night scary? Millets says it is not a scare night, though there are live actors on the trail. It recommends the event for ages 8 and over.