Back to school – marketing calendar

back to school, when the school year begins

Back to school – marketing calendar

Different young people have different feelings regarding going back to school after holidays – while some are happy and excited, some are reluctant or even anxious. No matter the mood, however, it’s all part of daily life in virtually every country of the world. Probably the most widely recognised back-to-school date is 1 September, but, as you will see, there are many exceptions, too.

Looking for helpful marketing calendars to aid your efforts?

🇪🇺 When does the school year start in…?

  • Albania 🇦🇱: September
  • Andorra 🇦🇩: second week of September
  • Armenia 🇦🇲: 1 September
  • Austria 🇦🇹: first half of September (depending on the federal state)
  • Azerbaijan 🇦🇿: 15 September
  • Belarus 🇧🇾: 1 September
  • Belgium 🇧🇪: 1 September
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦: first week of September (depending on the region)
  • Bulgaria 🇧🇬: 15 September
  • Croatia 🇭🇷: 1 September
  • Cyprus 🇨🇾: 1 September
  • Czechia 🇨🇿: 1 September
  • Denmark 🇩🇰: first half of August
  • Estonia 🇪🇪: 1 September
  • Faroe Islands 🇫🇴: August
  • Finland 🇫🇮: first half of August
  • France 🇫🇷: beginning of September
  • Georgia 🇬🇪: 15 September
  • Germany 🇩🇪: August/September (depending on the state)
  • Gibraltar 🇬🇮: 1 September
  • Greece 🇬🇷: beginning of September
  • Greenland 🇬🇱: first half of August
  • Guernsey 🇬🇬: first week of September
  • Hungary 🇭🇺: 1 September
  • Iceland 🇮🇸: end of August
  • Ireland 🇮🇪: 1 September
  • Isle of Man 🇮🇲: first days of September
  • Italy 🇮🇹: first half of September (depending on the region)
  • Jersey 🇯🇪: beginning of September
  • Kazakhstan 🇰🇿: 1 September
  • Kosovo 🇽🇰: 1 September
  • Latvia 🇱🇻: 1 September
  • Liechtenstein 🇱🇮: middle of August
  • Lithuania 🇱🇹: 1 September
  • Luxembourg 🇱🇺: 15 September
  • Malta 🇲🇹: fourth Monday in September
  • Moldova 🇲🇩: 1 September
  • Monaco 🇲🇨: beginning of September
  • Montenegro 🇲🇪: 1 September
  • Netherlands 🇳🇱: end of August / beginning of September (depending on the region)
  • North Macedonia 🇲🇰: 1 September
  • Norway 🇳🇴: middle of August
  • Poland 🇵🇱: 1 September
  • Portugal 🇵🇹: middle of September
  • Romania 🇷🇴: 11 September
  • Russia 🇷🇺: 1 September
  • San Marino 🇸🇲: beginning of September
  • Serbia 🇷🇸: 1 September
  • Slovakia 🇸🇰: 1 September
  • Slovenia 🇸🇮: 1 September
  • Spain 🇪🇸: first week of September
  • Sweden 🇸🇪: second half of August
  • Switzerland 🇨🇭: between the middle of August and the middle of September (depending on the canton)
  • Turkey 🇹🇷: middle of September
  • Ukraine 🇺🇦: 1 September
  • United Kingdom 🇬🇧:
    • England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: first days of September
    • Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿: middle of August
    • Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿: first days of September
    • Northern Ireland: first days of September

🇺🇸 🇨🇦 When does the school year begin in the USA and Canada?

Depending on the region (or even school district), classes in Canada begin between the end of August and the beginning of September.

In the case of the United States, similar numbers of students go back to school every week between the beginning of August and the beginning of September. Interestingly, for a small percentage of school districts, the school year begins already at the end of July.

🇦🇺 🇳🇿 When does the back-to-school date fall in Australia and New Zealand?

In Australia and New Zealand, the only countries among the ones we describe that are located in the Southern Hemisphere, back-to-school dates differ significantly from those in Europe and North America.

In New Zealand, a school year takes place within one calendar year. It begins between the last week of January and the second week of February.

The situation is similar in Australia – there, school year starts between the last week of January and the second week of February (depending on the state or territory).

Back to school

International marketing calendar

Back-to-school traditions around the world

The beginning of the school year, being an important social occasion, is often accompanied by various interesting customs. Most often, they consist in giving pupils souvenirs or sweets. When ceremonies are held, their agenda usually abounds with education-related speeches. Let’s look at some interesting traditions from around the world:

In this Eastern Orthodox country, the back-to-school ceremony is often attended by a priest, who uses holy water to bless the school building and the participants, and prays for prosperity in the upcoming year.

The class teacher makes a splendid bouquet out of single flowers brought by their students.

In Central Europe, perhaps the best-known back-to-school tradition is the so-called Schultüte – a paper cone filled with sweets. The Schultüte derives from German-speaking countries, and the tradition continues to be observed in regions that were once part of Germany (such as Upper Silesia). Interestingly, in Poland, the Schultüte (known locally as tyta) is nowadays gifted mostly as part of first-graders’ swearing-in ceremony, which takes place in late September or early October. The Schultüte is also often called a cornucopia.

A selected first-grader (usually a girl given a piggyback by an older schoolmate) symbolically inaugurates the school year – and the entire education process – by ringing a bell.

On the first day of school, pupils don beautifully decorated (e.g. embroidered) smocks, worn over everyday clothes. Depending on which grade they start, they adorn the smock with a ribbon in a specific colour.

Back-to-school as a business opportunity

Already a few weeks before the school year starts, supermarket aisles are full of “back-to-school” banners. This shouldn’t come as a surprise.

School year beginning is a period during which multiple industries experience bigger sales, while new products and services are successfully launched. School supply shops see increased traffic when parents and their children buy notebooks, pens, backpacks, or textbooks. But it’s not all about stationery companies – also the clothing and footwear industry can profit off selling items needed for school (bear in mind, though, that there are regional differences – did you know that, for example, in Greece, students don’t change their shoes in school?).

As the school year start approaches, many enterprises market innovative products aimed at answering students’ needs – such as ergonomic backpacks, eco-friendly school supplies, or technologically advanced accessories. The latter frequently employ motifs from children’s favourite franchises, like the latest cinema hits or best-selling video games (e.g. Minecraft).

Moreover, tech companies notice bigger demand for laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices, which become more and more necessary for learning. Other areas where customer activities are on the rise before the school year beginning are extracurricular courses, tutoring, and transport.

It’s also worth mentioning that as school approaches, thematic marketing campaigns and special deals can attract new customers and help retain them. Offering loyalty programmes (for example, for the duration of the school year) or incentive discounts not only boosts sales but also helps create long-term customer relationships. Whatever strategy they choose, companies from various industries can reap substantial benefits if only they skilfully navigate the back-to-school period.

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