Education

Here is the school calendar for 2027 and 2028

Jonathan Hoyle

 ·23 Oct 2026

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has published the 2028 school calendar, which includes three additional school days compared to the 2027 calendar.

For 2027, there will be 197 school days across all four terms, while 2028 will have 200 school days across 43 weeks.

The 2028 calendar also features two additional public holidays, both in the second term between 28 March and 14 June.

For 2027, the school terms will be:

• Term 1: 13 January – 19 March.
• Term 2: 06 April – 25 June.
• Term 3: 20 July – 22 September.
• Term 4: 05 October – 08 December.

For 2027, there will be 3 public holidays plus an additional special school holiday on 26 April, the day before Freedom Day.

In 2028, there will be five public holidays, plus an extra special school holiday on 28 April, the day after Freedom Day, to create a long weekend.

The term dates for 2028 will be:

• Term 1: 12 January – 17 March.
• Term 2: 28 March – 14 June.
• Term 3: 11 July – 22 September.
• Term 4: 03 October – 06 December.

While the Department of Education previously had separate school calendars for coastal and inland schools, this has been scrapped.

The published school calendars apply to all government schools in South Africa, while private schools have more freedom in setting their own term dates.

A breakdown of the 2027 and 2028 school years is shown below, along with the full calendars:

2027 School year breakdown

2028 school year breakdown

2027 school year calendar

2028 school year calendar