Brighton October Half Term 2026: 26 to 30 Oct, What's On

October half term in Brighton and Hove runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 at the council’s schools and almost every academy in the city, with Halloween landing on the Saturday at the end of it. Cardinal Newman pupils are off a week earlier as well, from 19 October, and Brighton College and Roedean break from 20 and 16 October respectively. Below are the dates, then what the city’s own venues have actually put on sale for that week, with times and prices from their listings.

Overview

• Half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 for council schools, Varndean, Dorothy Stringer, Hove Park, PACA and Longhill. Blatchington Mill closes at 3pm on Friday 23 October; Cardinal Newman is off from Monday 19 October for two weeks.
• Biggest family show: Your Toys at Brighton Dome, Wednesday 28 October to Sunday 1 November, 11am and 2pm, £16.50 adults, £12.50 children, £48 family.
• Free with admission: Alice in FUNderland at Preston Manor on Thursday 29 October and SEA LIFE’s Ascarium trail, which runs to 1 November.

Updated 19 October: The Dome’s two Halloween Crafty Kids workshops are on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October at £10 for an adult and child, and BLEEPED costs £16, or £12 for under-18s.

Updated 12 October: The Kids Show 2 at the Dome costs £16, or £14 for under-16s.

Updated 3 October: Preston Manor’s October ghost nights have sold out; an extra night is on 6 November. Halloween events and pumpkin farms are now on our Brighton Halloween page.

The dates

The council calendar sets the break at 26 to 30 October, and the same dates are on the published calendars of Varndean, Dorothy Stringer, Hove Park, PACA and Longhill. Three schools differ. Cardinal Newman takes Monday 19 to Friday 30 October. Brighton College breaks at 5pm on Tuesday 20 October and resumes on Monday 2 November. Roedean is off from Friday 16 October to Sunday 1 November. The school-by-school table is on our term dates page.

What is on that week

Brighton Dome

• Your Toys, Studio Theatre, Wednesday 28 October to Sunday 1 November, ten performances at 11am and 2pm. Slot Machine Theatre’s puppeteers build the show from toys the audience brings, so arrive at least ten minutes early if you want yours in it. Ages 4 to 9, 60 minutes plus a further ten to collect toys and meet the cast. £16.50 adults, £12.50 children, £48 family; relaxed performances on Thursday 29 October at 2pm and Sunday 1 November at 11am. Dome listing.
• The Kids Show 2 with comic duo Shelf, Studio Theatre, and Live at Brighton Dome BLEEPED, the swear-free stand-up showcase in the Corn Exchange, are both on Saturday 24 October as part of the Brighton Dome Comedy Festival (16 to 25 October), the weekend before half term. The Kids Show 2 is at 2pm, for ages 6 and up, at £16, or £14 for under-16s (Dome listing). BLEEPED is at 6pm (doors 5.15pm), for ages 11 and up, at £16, or £12 for under-18s (Dome listing).
• Crafty Kids Halloween workshops for ages 3 to 11 with a grown-up, two sessions a day at 11.15am and 2.15pm (doors 11am and 2pm). Materials are provided and the Dome tidies up afterwards. Tickets are £10 for one adult and one child, plus £8 for each extra child, with no more than two children per adult and a ticket needed for everyone (autumn season):
• Spooky Spiders and Chatty Bats, Thursday 29 October (listing)
• Shadow Puppets, Friday 30 October (listing)

Brighton & Hove Museums

All from the what’s on listing:

• Alice in FUNderland, Preston Manor, Thursday 29 October, 10am to 4pm. Victorian parlour games and “Lewis Carroll inspired science, puzzles and wordplay”, run with Brighton Science Festival, with specimens from the Booth Museum. All ages, free with admission to the manor (listing). Preston Manor is open Friday to Monday only in its normal season, 10am to 5pm, until 30 November, so this Thursday opening is an exception.
• Haunted Happenings, a ghost tour for 13 to 16 year olds at Preston Manor, Friday 30 October, 11am to noon, £10 per person; teenagers can attend unaccompanied (listing).
• Twisted Tales, ghost story writing for 13 to 16 year olds, Preston Manor, Friday 30 October.
• Story time (Tuesday 27 October) and Museum Makers (Wednesday 28 October) at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, both Black History Month family sessions.
• Halloween pop-up cinema in the museum’s Central Gallery on Saturday 31 October: Hocus Pocus (PG) at 7pm, open to children of 8 and up with an adult, then The Rocky Horror Picture Show (12A) at 9.15pm. £20 for one film, £35 for both, bring your own snacks but not alcohol, and there are prizes for best dressed (listing).
• Ghostly Gatherings, the adult ghost tour of Preston Manor, ran every Friday in October from 8pm to 11pm, and all five October dates are now sold out. The museums have added Friday 6 November, same times; over 16s, £36 (listing).
• At the Royal Pavilion, the Dragons season, with the “Fire and Water: Dreaming of Dragons” exhibition in the Prince Regent Gallery, ends on Sunday 1 November, so half term is the last week to see it. It is free with Pavilion admission (listing); the winter exhibition that replaces it is on our Royal Pavilion at Christmas page.

SEA LIFE Brighton

Ascarium: Tricks and Treats runs from 3 October to 1 November and is included with admission. It is a trail through the aquarium with challenges set by the Sea Witch and Warlock, a reward at the end, and character appearances on selected weekend and half-term dates. Admission is £16 an adult booked in advance or £22 on the day, under 2s free, and the aquarium opens 10am to 4pm with last entry at 3pm (SEA LIFE listing).

Getting around that week

There is no Brighton Main Line closure during half term; the next is Sunday 29 November. The council’s outdoor events list has nothing on council land between the Rise run on the Undercliff on 18 October and the Veteran Car Run on Madeira Drive on Sunday 1 November, the day after half term, which closes the seafront road to ordinary traffic. The same Sunday, buses replace trains between Brighton and Lewes all day (National Rail). Check roadworks and travel and parking before driving in.

Still to be confirmed

• Whether SEA LIFE names its half-term character dates: its Ascarium page still says only “selected” dates when checked on 19 October.
• Anything from Churchill Square or the Palace Pier for Halloween: neither had published a 2026 event when checked again on 19 October.

Bonfire night follows the week after; see Brighton fireworks.

Sources: Brighton & Hove City Council term dates; Brighton Dome: Your Toys, autumn 2026 season, Comedy Festival 2026; Brighton & Hove Museums what’s on and event pages linked above; SEA LIFE Brighton Ascarium; council outdoor events.