School calendar 2027: term dates
2027 has four terms for public schools: Term 1 13 January to 19 March 2027; Term 2 6 April to 25 June 2027; Term 3 20 July to 22 September 2027; Term 4 5 October to 8 December 2027. That is 197 school days.
Terms and school days
| Term | First school day | Last school day | Weeks | School days | Weekdays off inside the term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Days for administration from | 10 | 4848 weekdays; 50 with the days for administration | none | |
| Term 2 | 12 | 5659 weekdays minus 3 off | Mon 26 Apr: special school holidayTue 27 Apr: Freedom DayWed 16 Jun: Youth Day | ||
| Term 3 | 10 | 4647 weekdays minus 1 off | Mon 9 Aug: National Women’s Day | ||
| Term 4 | Days for administration to | 10 | 4747 weekdays; 49 with the days for administration | none | |
| Year | 4 terms | 42 | 197201 with the days for administration | 4 weekdays | |
Taken from Government Gazette 52178, Notice 5902 of 25 February 2025: 2027 Calendar for public schools; Department of Basic Education: Published 2027 School Calendar. Saved copies last read on .
Every count in the table was recomputed from the dates: the weekdays from the first to the last school day equal the Gazette’s “No. of days”, and those weekdays minus the public and special school holidays inside the term equal its “Actual no. of school days”.
What sets 2027 apart
- Term 2 is the longest (56 school days); term 3 is the shortest (46 school days). Weekdays off inside the terms: three in Term 2, one in Term 3.
- 2027 has 197 school days: two days fewer than 2026 (199), three days fewer than 2028 (200).
Taken from Government Gazette 52178, Notice 5902 of 25 February 2025: 2027 Calendar for public schools; Department of Basic Education: Published 2027 School Calendar; gov.za: Public holidays in South Africa. Saved copies last read on .
The gov.za summary shows other 2027 dates
The gov.za school calendar summary shows the proposed dates of Term 3 and Term 4 for 2027, not the published ones. This site follows the dates in the published Government Gazette.
gov.za prints Term 3 as “20 July – 1 Oct” and Term 4 as “11 October – (8) 10 December”. The published Government Gazette 52178 prints Term 3 from 20 July 2027 to 22 September 2027 and Term 4 from 5 October 2027 to 8 December 2027. The gov.za figures are those of the proposed calendar: Government Gazette 51400, Notice 5429 of 15 October 2024: Call for comments, proposed 2027 school calendar.
By the gov.za figures the September–October holidays would be Saturday 2 October 2027 to Sunday 10 October 2027; by the published Gazette they are Thursday 23 September 2027 to Monday 4 October 2027, the dates on this page.
The Gazette notice
- Government Gazette
- No. 52178,
- Notice
- No. 5902, Department of Basic Education
- Published by
- Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube
- Applies to
- Public schools in all nine provinces
In Notice 5902 the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, publishes the 2027 Calendar for public schools in South Africa under section 3(4)(k) of the National Education Policy Act 27 of 1996, after consultation with the Council of Education Ministers. The calendar itself is the schedule printed with the notice.
Taken from Government Gazette 52178, Notice 5902 of 25 February 2025: 2027 Calendar for public schools; Department of Basic Education: Published 2027 School Calendar. Saved copies last read on .
Days for administration
Bracketed dates around the start of Term 1 and the end of Term 4 are days for administration, excluded from school day counts. The Gazette does not say who attends.
One calendar
The Minister of Basic Education publishes one calendar in the Government Gazette for public schools in all nine provinces. Independent schools are not bound by the public school calendar. They set their own term dates.
2027 on one page
The year grid prints on one page.
- School day (solid tint)
- Day for administration (dashed frame)
- School holiday (diagonal stripes)
- Public holiday (ring)
- Special school holiday (square frame)
Select a day for its details; the arrow keys move between days.
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No day selected.
Taken from Government Gazette 52178, Notice 5902 of 25 February 2025: 2027 Calendar for public schools; Department of Basic Education: Published 2027 School Calendar; gov.za: Public holidays in South Africa. Saved copies last read on .
Add the 2027 terms and holidays to your calendar The calendar file uses the .ics format. Import it into a phone or computer calendar to add the dates.
Questions people ask
- When does school start in 2027?
- School days of Term 1 start on Wednesday 13 January 2027; Monday 11 January 2027 and the day after are days for administration.
- When does Term 4 2027 end?
- The last school day is Wednesday 8 December 2027; days for administration follow until Friday 10 December 2027.
The Gazette notices and pages behind this page
- Government Gazette 52178, Notice 5902 of 25 February 2025: 2027 Calendar for public schools (copy saved )
- Department of Basic Education: Published 2027 School Calendar (copy saved )
- gov.za: Public holidays in South Africa (copy saved )
Each figure above was tested against saved copies of these papers, last read on . Should this page and the Government Gazette ever part ways, go by the Gazette. How each date is tested.