General information, not legal advice. Not a government site. Dates follow the Public Holidays Act, presidential declarations and the gazetted DBE school calendars.
School terms 2026
Term dates and school holidays for public schools in all provinces, from the 2026 calendar the Minister of Basic Education published in the Government Gazette. Also see 2027 and 2028.
2026 term dates (public schools, all provinces)
Term
Learners start
Learners finish
School days
Term 1
Wednesday 14 January 2026Teachers from Mon 12 Jan
Friday 27 March 2026
53
Term 2
Wednesday 8 April 2026
Friday 26 June 2026
54
Term 3
Tuesday 21 July 2026
Wednesday 23 September 2026
46
Term 4
Tuesday 6 October 2026
Wednesday 9 December 2026Teachers until Fri 11 Dec
47
Year
200
School holidays 2026
11 daysSat 28 Mar – Tue 7 AprAfter term 1
24 daysSat 27 Jun – Mon 20 JulAfter term 2
12 daysThu 24 Sep – Mon 5 OctAfter term 3
34 daysThu 10 Dec – Tue 12 Jan 2027End of year (to 2027)
Days off during term
Monday 15 June 2026Special school holiday (schools only, not a public holiday)
Saturday 21 March 2026Human Rights Day
Monday 27 April 2026Freedom Day
Friday 1 May 2026Workers' Day
Tuesday 16 June 2026Youth Day
Sunday 9 August 2026National Women's Day
Monday 10 August 2026National Women's Day observed
Wednesday 4 November 2026Local government elections
School day Public holiday Special school holiday Weekend
January 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1: New Year's Day
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14: Term 1
15: Term 1
16: Term 1
17
18
19: Term 1
20: Term 1
21: Term 1
22: Term 1
23: Term 1
24
25
26: Term 1
27: Term 1
28: Term 1
29: Term 1
30: Term 1
31
February 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1
2: Term 1
3: Term 1
4: Term 1
5: Term 1
6: Term 1
7
8
9: Term 1
10: Term 1
11: Term 1
12: Term 1
13: Term 1
14
15
16: Term 1
17: Term 1
18: Term 1
19: Term 1
20: Term 1
21
22
23: Term 1
24: Term 1
25: Term 1
26: Term 1
27: Term 1
28
March 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1
2: Term 1
3: Term 1
4: Term 1
5: Term 1
6: Term 1
7
8
9: Term 1
10: Term 1
11: Term 1
12: Term 1
13: Term 1
14
15
16: Term 1
17: Term 1
18: Term 1
19: Term 1
20: Term 1
21: Human Rights Day
22
23: Term 1
24: Term 1
25: Term 1
26: Term 1
27: Term 1
28
29
30
31
April 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1
2
3: Good Friday
4
5
6: Family Day
7
8: Term 2
9: Term 2
10: Term 2
11
12
13: Term 2
14: Term 2
15: Term 2
16: Term 2
17: Term 2
18
19
20: Term 2
21: Term 2
22: Term 2
23: Term 2
24: Term 2
25
26
27: Freedom Day
28: Term 2
29: Term 2
30: Term 2
May 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1: Workers' Day
2
3
4: Term 2
5: Term 2
6: Term 2
7: Term 2
8: Term 2
9
10
11: Term 2
12: Term 2
13: Term 2
14: Term 2
15: Term 2
16
17
18: Term 2
19: Term 2
20: Term 2
21: Term 2
22: Term 2
23
24
25: Term 2
26: Term 2
27: Term 2
28: Term 2
29: Term 2
30
31
June 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1: Term 2
2: Term 2
3: Term 2
4: Term 2
5: Term 2
6
7
8: Term 2
9: Term 2
10: Term 2
11: Term 2
12: Term 2
13
14
15: Special school holiday
16: Youth Day
17: Term 2
18: Term 2
19: Term 2
20
21
22: Term 2
23: Term 2
24: Term 2
25: Term 2
26: Term 2
27
28
29
30
July 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21: Term 3
22: Term 3
23: Term 3
24: Term 3
25
26
27: Term 3
28: Term 3
29: Term 3
30: Term 3
31: Term 3
August 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1
2
3: Term 3
4: Term 3
5: Term 3
6: Term 3
7: Term 3
8
9: National Women's Day
10: National Women's Day observed
11: Term 3
12: Term 3
13: Term 3
14: Term 3
15
16
17: Term 3
18: Term 3
19: Term 3
20: Term 3
21: Term 3
22
23
24: Term 3
25: Term 3
26: Term 3
27: Term 3
28: Term 3
29
30
31: Term 3
September 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1: Term 3
2: Term 3
3: Term 3
4: Term 3
5
6
7: Term 3
8: Term 3
9: Term 3
10: Term 3
11: Term 3
12
13
14: Term 3
15: Term 3
16: Term 3
17: Term 3
18: Term 3
19
20
21: Term 3
22: Term 3
23: Term 3
24: Heritage Day
25
26
27
28
29
30
October 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1
2
3
4
5
6: Term 4
7: Term 4
8: Term 4
9: Term 4
10
11
12: Term 4
13: Term 4
14: Term 4
15: Term 4
16: Term 4
17
18
19: Term 4
20: Term 4
21: Term 4
22: Term 4
23: Term 4
24
25
26: Term 4
27: Term 4
28: Term 4
29: Term 4
30: Term 4
31
November 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1
2: Term 4
3: Term 4
4: Local government elections
5: Term 4
6: Term 4
7
8
9: Term 4
10: Term 4
11: Term 4
12: Term 4
13: Term 4
14
15
16: Term 4
17: Term 4
18: Term 4
19: Term 4
20: Term 4
21
22
23: Term 4
24: Term 4
25: Term 4
26: Term 4
27: Term 4
28
29
30: Term 4
December 2026
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
1: Term 4
2: Term 4
3: Term 4
4: Term 4
5
6
7: Term 4
8: Term 4
9: Term 4
10
11
12
13
14
15
16: Day of Reconciliation
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25: Christmas Day
26: Day of Goodwill
27
28
29
30
31
General information, not legal advice. KayaCalendar gives general information based on the Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994, presidential declarations of special public holidays published on gov.za, and the public school calendars gazetted by the Minister of Basic Education. It is not legal advice and is not a government website. The President can declare extra public holidays, and provinces, schools and employers may set their own arrangements, so check important dates with the official source. Independent schools set their own dates. A province can apply to change dates in an emergency, and the Minister can amend the calendar by notice.
Where these dates come from
The Minister of Basic Education determines the school calendar for public schools under section 3(4)(k) of the National Education Policy Act and publishes it in the Government Gazette. The 2026 dates here come from 2026 Calendar for public schools (GN 5901, 25 February 2025).
Election Day on Wednesday 4 November 2026 was declared a public holiday after the calendar was gazetted, so schools are closed that day too.
Learners at public schools return on Wednesday 14 January 2026; teachers start on Monday 12 January 2026. The date is the same in all nine provinces.
When do schools close in 2026?
Learners finish on Wednesday 9 December 2026 and teachers on Friday 11 December 2026.
What are the 2026 school holidays?
After term 1: Sat 28 Mar to Tue 7 Apr; After term 2: Sat 27 Jun to Mon 20 Jul; After term 3: Thu 24 Sep to Mon 5 Oct; End of year (to 2027): Thu 10 Dec to Tue 12 Jan 2027.
How many school days are there in 2026?
200, as printed in the gazetted calendar.
Do private schools follow this calendar?
Not necessarily. The gazetted calendar is for public schools. Independent schools set their own term dates, so check with the school.