What is an exeat weekend?

In the boarding school world, you will hear the term 'exeat weekend' used regularly. Exeat weekends are also known as leave weekends, leave-outs, or rec leave. There are lots of different terms, but they all mean the same thing.

An exeat is when there is a holiday at the weekend. Some UK boarding schools remain open over these weekends, whilst others shut completely. When a school does close over a weekend, students will usually have to leave the premises. Even though these breaks from school are short, they provide students with the perfect time to recharge before returning to school.

When a school closes for an exeat weekend, Academic Families will organise a welcoming host family for students to stay with until the school reopens. We like to pair students with the same host family so that they have a familiar place to call home whilst they are out of school. On their breaks, many students enjoy cooking, going to the cinema, or doing some local sightseeing with their hosts.

For longer holidays, such as half terms, Academic Families also offers escorted trips to exciting destinations like Dubai, Kenya and Greece. These trips provide students with the chance to experience new cultures, create lasting memories and make new friends.

Wherever your child goes when school is closed, Academic Families organises all the transport so you don’t need to worry. We manage all transfers and are always prepared to handle delays or cancellations to ensure a stress free journey for your child.

Find out more about how we can enrol your child in a UK boarding school and support them while they're here. For more definitions of common boarding school phrases, you can read our 'boarding school lingo' blog.