Education department says changes are intended to make the 2026 academic year 'more consistent and efficient'.
With Grade 12 pupils pulling the final stretch of their last year in high school, other pupils, teachers and parents are also counting down to the end of the academic year.
According to the department of basic education (DBE), the fourth and final school term officially wraps up on 10 December, marking the close of the 2025 school year.
Schools will reopen on 14 January 2026, with pupils enjoying a five-week summer holiday before returning to the classroom for the start of the new academic year.
A new-look calendar for 2026
While pupils look forward to the festive break, the DBE is already looking ahead.
The department has gazetted several changes to the national policy for determining school calendars, which will come into effect next year.
Among the biggest shifts is the scrapping of staggered calendars, meaning all provinces will now start and end the school year at the same time.
The proposed policy states that “schools must open in the third week of January”, ending the long-standing system that saw inland provinces start a week earlier than coastal ones.
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More flexibility in planning
Other notable deletions include the rule that required the department to consider traffic flow when setting holiday dates and the provision banning schools from starting a term on a Monday.
Both have been removed, giving planners greater flexibility in setting term schedules.
The DBE said these changes reflect input from “various stakeholders and the general public” since the last policy review in 2015 and are intended to make the 2026 academic year “more consistent and efficient”.
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2026 school calendar
Here’s the proposed 2026 school calendar to help parents stay ahead of the game.
FIRST TERM:
- Schools start: 14 January 2026;
- Schools close: 27 March 2026;
- School holidays: 28 March to 7 April 2026.
SECOND TERM:
- Schools start: 8 April 2026;
- Schools close: 26 June 2026;
- Public holidays: Freedom Day (27 April 2026), Workers’ Day (1 May 2026), Youth Day (16 June 2026);
- Special school holidays: 15 June 2026
- School holidays: 27 June to 20 July 2026.
THIRD TERM:
- School start: 21 July 2026;
- School closes: 23 September 2026;
- Public holidays: National Women’s Day (9 and 10 August 2026),
- School holidays: 24 September to 05 October 2026.
FOURTH TERM:
- School start: 06 October 2026;
- School closes: 09 December 2026;
- Public holidays: Day of Reconciliation (16 December 2026), Christmas Day (25 December 2026), Day of Goodwill (26 December 2026).
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