Slough's half term is 26 to 30 October. Black Park's Halloween trail is free to book, and The Curve has three children's shows at £8 a ticket for under-16s.
October half term in Slough is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 for schools on the council’s calendar. Two local secondaries break for longer, so check your child’s school first. The things actually booked for that week, from the organisers’ own listings, are below, most of them free or under £10.
The quick answer
- Dates: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Langley Academy is off from 19 October and Upton Court Grammar until 9 November.
- Free: the Black Park Halloween Trail, 24 October to 1 November. Tickets are free but must be booked, and you pay to park.
- Indoors: three children’s shows at The Curve, 28, 29 and 30 October, £10, or £8 for under-16s.
Half term dates, and the schools that differ
Slough Borough Council’s October holiday is 26 to 30 October, with Term 2 starting on Monday 2 November (Slough Borough Council, school term dates). Academies and voluntary aided schools can set their own dates, and this year two of them add a week:
- Langley Academy: 19 to 30 October (term dates).
- Upton Court Grammar: 26 October to 6 November, back on Monday 9 November (term dates, PDF).
- Langley Grammar closes at the end of Thursday 22 October, a day early (term dates).
Every school’s calendar is on our Slough school term dates page.
What’s on, day by day
| When | What | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 24 Oct to Sun 1 Nov | Black Park Halloween Trail | Black Park, Wexham | Free, booking required. Parking from £4.60 |
| Saturdays, 9am | Black Park parkrun, 5km | Black Park | Free |
| Tue 27 Oct, 4pm to 5pm | Lego at The Curve | Library at The Curve | Free |
| Wed 28 Oct, 2pm | The Amazing Bubbleman | The Curve | £10, under-16s £8 |
| Thu 29 Oct, 11.30am | The Shivers, ages 6 to 11 | The Curve | £10, under-16s £8 |
| Fri 30 Oct, 11.30am | The Elves and the Shoemaker, ages 3 and up | The Curve | £10, under-16s £8 |
| Sat 31 Oct, 7.30pm | 16th London All Soul's Jazz Festival | The Curve | £15 |
Black Park Halloween Trail
Buckinghamshire Council’s country parks team runs a self-led trail through the woods at Black Park from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November 2026. Families look for hidden Halloween characters, and the council says it takes roughly thirty minutes. Time slots run 10am to 3pm at weekends and 9am to 3pm on weekdays. All ages are welcome, and children must be with an adult (Buckinghamshire Country Parks, Eventbrite listing).
The trail is free, but you must book a ticket, which is also how the council sends arrival instructions. Parking is not free. Black Park’s car park charges £4.60 for up to two hours, £5.50 for up to four and £6.70 for longer, paid by RingGo, PayByPhone or JustPark, with a £3.40 two-hour rate before 9am. Blue Badge holders and motorcycles park free (Buckinghamshire Country Parks, parking). The park is at Black Park Road, Wexham, SL3 6DS, and parking on Black Park Road itself is not allowed (Black Park).
The same team runs a Kids Go Wild Halloween Camp at Black Park for children aged 1 to 10, a forest school session with potion-making, a campfire and a Halloween craft. Each child needs a ticket; accompanying adults do not. Dates and prices are on the booking page.
Black Park’s free parkrun starts at 9am every Saturday, so it runs on both half term weekends (Black Park).
Three children’s shows at The Curve
The Curve on William Street has a family show on three days of the week. All three cost £10, or £8 for under-16s, on the venue’s own booking system.
- The Amazing Bubbleman, Wednesday 28 October, 2pm. Louis Pearl’s bubble show, a regular at the Edinburgh Fringe (The Curve).
- The Shivers, by emma + pj, Thursday 29 October, 11.30am. A 55-minute action comedy for ages 6 to 11 about misinformation and staying safe online (The Curve).
- The Elves and the Shoemaker, Friday 30 October, 11.30am. Theatre of Widdershins’ puppet version of the Ladybird story, 55 minutes, for ages 3 and up (The Curve).
The library at The Curve runs a free Lego session every Tuesday from 4pm to 5pm, which falls on 27 October in half term (Slough Borough Council, events).
For adults, the 16th London All Soul’s Jazz Festival plays The Curve on Saturday 31 October at 7.30pm, £15.
Getting there and parking
The Curve is on William Street in the town centre. The nearest council car parks, their charges and the new rule that free parking sessions must be registered on RingGo are all on our parking in Slough page. Check Slough roadworks and travel before driving: the National Rail notices we checked show engineering work between Slough and Twyford on Sunday 25 October, with buses replacing some Elizabeth line trains between Slough and Maidenhead (National Rail).
Still to be confirmed
- Kids Go Wild Halloween Camp dates, which are on the booking page only.
- Slough Ice Arena half term sessions. Everyone Active has not published a half term timetable yet; the rink runs public skating sessions and family discos (Slough Ice Arena).
- Library half term activities. For February half term the libraries advertised free creative sessions for children (The Link, Slough Borough Council). October’s have not been listed on the council’s events page yet; we will add them when they appear.
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