Lambeth's half term is 26 to 30 October 2026. Free library craft sessions every day, IWM's Big Story Festival on 25 and 26 October, and fireworks on the 31st.
Lambeth’s October half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, and most Clapham primary schools follow it. Some do not: Harris Academy Clapham and Streatham & Clapham High School are off for two weeks from 19 October, and two primaries start a day or two early (our Lambeth term dates page has the details). The half term falls at the end of Black History Month, and Lambeth’s libraries have put on a free children’s craft session almost every afternoon of the week, all listed on the council’s events page.
The quick answer
- Half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 in Lambeth and Wandsworth schools.
- Free in Clapham: Build a Windrush Suitcase at Clapham Library, Tuesday 27 October, 2.30pm to 4pm, ages 5 to 12.
- Bigger day out: the Big Story Festival at IWM London, Sunday 25 and Monday 26 October, 10am to 6pm, free entry with some paid talks.
Free library sessions, 26 to 30 October
Every one of these is free and listed by Lambeth Council. They are Black History Month activities for children.
| Day | Time | Session | Library |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 27 Oct | 2.30pm to 4pm | Build a Windrush Suitcase (ages 5 to 12) | Clapham Library, 91 Clapham High Street |
| Wed 28 Oct | 2pm to 3pm | Black History badge making | Durning Library, Kennington |
| Wed 28 Oct | 2.30pm to 4pm | African fabric printing | Minet Library, Kennington |
| Wed 28 Oct | 2.30pm to 4pm | Mary Seacole's medical kit | West Norwood Library |
| Thu 29 Oct | 11am to 12.30pm | Kente cloth crafts (all ages) | Brixton Tate Library |
| Fri 30 Oct | 2pm to 3pm | Black History badge making | Waterloo Library |
| Fri 30 Oct | 2.30pm to 4pm | Claudia Jones mini newspaper | Tate South Lambeth Library, Vauxhall |
| Fri 30 Oct | 2.30pm to 4pm | Make a carnival headdress | Carnegie Library |
The Clapham session is the one closest to SW4. The library is in the Mary Seacole Centre on Clapham High Street, and children decorate a shoebox-sized cardboard suitcase and fill it with what they would pack for the journey from the Caribbean. Enquiries go to the library on 020 7926 0717.
Big Story Festival at IWM London, 25 and 26 October
The Imperial War Museum on Lambeth Road holds its Big Story Festival on Sunday 25 and Monday 26 October 2026, 10am to 6pm. Entry is free, with “selected paid activities” at £10 to £15.
- Paid author talks, £10, ages 8 and up: Judith Eagle on The Blitz Sisters (Sunday, 11am), Tom Palmer on Armistice Runner (Monday, 11am) and Dame Jacqueline Wilson on Wave Me Goodbye (Monday, 2pm).
- Free drop-ins: Will Hughes’s Draw Your Story sessions, a family hub from 10am to 4pm both days, a sing-along with Tom Carradine (wristband from admissions) and a Hands on History table with First and Second World War objects from 11am to 2pm.
- Paid workshops: a comic workshop with Sarah Gavron and Sophie Herxheimer (£15, ages 11 and up, Sunday 2pm) and movement workshops linked to Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella (£10).
The Jacqueline Wilson talk is the one likely to sell out first.
Vauxhall City Farm
Vauxhall City Farm is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 4pm (last entry 3.45pm), so it is open every day of half term except Monday 26 October. Entry is free, with a suggested donation of £4. The farm has not yet listed anything special for the half-term week.
The weekend before, for the two-week schools
For families at Harris Academy Clapham or Streatham & Clapham High, whose break starts on Saturday 17 October, two Lambeth Fringe shows fall on that first day:
- The Magic Sweet Jar at Vauxhall City Farm, Saturday 17 October at 12pm, £8 adults and £6 children (Vauxhall City Farm).
- Humdinger: Words for Whippersnappers and Guttersnipes, a comedy and poetry show for children, at West Norwood Library, Saturday 17 October, 2.30pm to 4pm, free but booked through the Lambeth Fringe (Lambeth).
Saturday 31 October: fireworks
The half term ends with the first of the local fireworks displays. Lambeth has no council display this year, and the nearest is at Herne Hill Velodrome on Saturday 31 October. Times, tickets and the other displays are on our Clapham fireworks page.
Still to come
Vauxhall City Farm, the Omnibus Theatre and the borough’s parks have not yet published anything specifically for the half-term week. This page will be updated in mid-October as listings appear.
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