School holidays in South Africa - dates and deadlines
Every school holidays date Find SA Status tracks, current and archived, with the official source, the date we last verified it and the next scheduled review.
There are 11 school holidays records here: 7 still upcoming and 4 archived. Archived records stay online because "when did that happen" is a real question, but they are clearly marked so nobody plans around a date that has passed.
Last reviewed 2026-10-13 · next scheduled review 2026-10-14
Upcoming and current
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Thu 10 Dec 2026 – Tue 12 Jan 2027
Confirmed In 89 days2026–2027 summer school holiday
Public schools are scheduled to close for the summer holiday on Thursday 10 December 2026, and learners are scheduled to return on Wednesday 13 January 2027. Educators report on 11 January 2027. This is the longest break of the school year at around five weeks.
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20 Mar – 5 Apr 2027
Confirmed In 172 days2027 autumn school holiday
The 2027 autumn break is 17 days long, from Saturday 20 March to Monday 5 April. It contains three public-holiday events in quick succession: the observed Human Rights Day on 22 March, Good Friday on 26 March and Family Day on 29 March. Learners return on Tuesday 6 April.
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Mon 26 Apr 2027
Confirmed In 193 daysSpecial school holiday 2027 - Monday 26 April
The Department of Basic Education declared Monday 26 April 2027 a special school holiday, immediately before Freedom Day on Tuesday 27 April. Public schools are closed on both days, but this is not a public holiday: government departments, banks and private businesses that only follow the Public Holidays Act are open on 26 April.
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Mon 26 Apr 2027
Confirmed In 193 daysSpecial school holiday - Monday 26 April 2027
Monday 26 April 2027 is a special school holiday, declared so that the Freedom Day long weekend runs from Saturday 24 to Tuesday 27 April. Public schools are closed but it is not a public holiday, so government offices and most businesses are open.
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26 Jun – 19 Jul 2027
Confirmed In 277 days2027 winter school holiday
The 2027 winter break runs 24 days from Saturday 26 June to Monday 19 July. Schools reopen for Term 3 on Tuesday 20 July.
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23 Sep – 4 Oct 2027
Confirmed In 354 days2027 spring school holiday
The 2027 spring break runs 12 days from Thursday 23 September to Monday 4 October. Heritage Day falls on Friday 24 September, the second day of the break. Schools reopen on Tuesday 5 October.
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Thu 9 Dec 2027 – Tue 11 Jan 2028
Tentative In 453 days2027–2028 summer school holiday
Public schools close for the 2027 summer holiday on Thursday 9 December 2027. The 2028 school calendar had not been gazetted at the time this record was last verified, so the return date shown is the latest date consistent with the Department of Basic Education's convention of starting in the second week of January and must be confirmed once the 2028 gazette is published.
Archive
These dates have passed. They are kept for reference - for example to check when a filing season closed in a previous year.
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28 Mar – 7 Apr 2026
Confirmed 191 days ago2026 autumn school holiday
Public schools closed for the autumn break from Saturday 28 March to Tuesday 7 April 2026, an 11-day break. Learners returned on Wednesday 8 April. Good Friday and Family Day fell inside this break.
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Mon 15 Jun 2026
Confirmed 122 days agoSpecial school holiday - Monday 15 June 2026
The Department of Basic Education declared Monday 15 June 2026 a special school holiday so that the Youth Day long weekend ran from Saturday 13 to Tuesday 16 June. Public schools were closed. This is not a public holiday, so government offices and private businesses were open unless they chose to close.
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27 Jun – 20 Jul 2026
Confirmed 87 days ago2026 winter school holiday
The 2026 winter break ran for 24 days from Saturday 27 June to Monday 20 July. Schools reopened for Term 3 on Tuesday 21 July. This is the longest holiday of the school year apart from December.
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24 Sep – 5 Oct 2026
Confirmed 10 days ago2026 spring school holiday
The 2026 spring break ran for 12 days from Thursday 24 September to Monday 5 October. Heritage Day fell on the first day. Schools reopened for the final term on Tuesday 6 October.
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