- 2023: Saturday 15th July – Friday 4th August
How do you set the Convention dates?
To ensure that families can attend, we hold the second and third weeks of the Convention as soon as the majority of Local Educational Authorities (LEAs) are on holiday. This means that the third week of the Convention starts on the last Saturday of July.
Is there a normal pattern to the Convention dates?
The Convention weekdays are in Weeks 29, 30 and 31 of the Calendar year – and this has been the pattern since 2001. Of course, every year the date of the last Saturday in July changes.
The Convention is a family event. Does the variance of school holidays affect the dates when families can attend the Convention?
Local Education Authorities’ choice of summer holiday dates follows a shifting calendar pattern. The national picture indicates that the school holidays vary from LEA to LEA – this means that school holidays are different around the UK.
What about the school holiday dates in 2023?
In 2023, 92% of local authorities around England and Wales will still be at school during Week One of the Convention. So, most families can’t come then, but most can come in either of the following weeks, even so some can only attend in Week Three. Such is the variance of school holiday dates between different LEAs.
Cumbria is one of the 8% (14 out of 165 currently published) of Local Authorities in England and Wales to be on holiday at the start of the Convention, in 2023. This happens rarely, but has happened before in 2010. In 2023, Cumbrian schools will still be in term time during most of Week One of the Convention.
Who comes to stay in Keswick?
Visitor surveys demonstrate that most who stay in the Lake District come from outside Cumbria. Meanwhile day visitors to Keswick not attending the Convention are unaffected. And since Week One is the least busy of the Convention weeks – there is plenty of accommodation for those who want to stay.