School calendar 2028: term dates
2028 has four terms for public schools: Term 1 12 January to 17 March 2028; Term 2 28 March to 14 June 2028; Term 3 11 July to 22 September 2028; Term 4 3 October to 6 December 2028. That is 200 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 | 5257 weekdays minus 5 off | Fri 14 Apr: Good FridayMon 17 Apr: Family DayThu 27 Apr: Freedom DayFri 28 Apr: special school holidayMon 1 May: Workers’ Day | ||
| Term 3 | 11 | 5354 weekdays minus 1 off | Wed 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 | 43 | 200204 with the days for administration | 6 weekdays | |
Taken from Government Gazette 55619, Notice 8081 of 23 October 2026: 2028 Calendar for public schools; gov.za: National Education Policy Act: 2028 Calendar for public schools; Department of Basic Education: Proposed 2028 School Calendar for public comments (a proposed calendar for public comment, not the published notice; listed as a cross-check only). 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 2028 apart
- Term 3 is the longest (53 school days); term 4 is the shortest (47 school days). Weekdays off inside the terms: five in Term 2, one in Term 3.
- 2028 has 200 school days: one day more than 2026 (199), three days more than 2027 (197).
Taken from Government Gazette 55619, Notice 8081 of 23 October 2026: 2028 Calendar for public schools; gov.za: National Education Policy Act: 2028 Calendar for public schools; Department of Basic Education: Proposed 2028 School Calendar for public comments (a proposed calendar for public comment, not the published notice; listed as a cross-check only); Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994. Saved copies last read on .
The Gazette notice
- Government Gazette
- No. 55619,
- Notice
- No. 8081, Department of Basic Education
- Published by
- Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube
- Applies to
- Public schools in all nine provinces
In Notice 8081 the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, publishes the 2028 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 55619, Notice 8081 of 23 October 2026: 2028 Calendar for public schools; gov.za: National Education Policy Act: 2028 Calendar for public schools; Department of Basic Education: Proposed 2028 School Calendar for public comments (a proposed calendar for public comment, not the published notice; listed as a cross-check only). 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.
2028 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.
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
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No day selected.
Taken from Government Gazette 55619, Notice 8081 of 23 October 2026: 2028 Calendar for public schools; gov.za: National Education Policy Act: 2028 Calendar for public schools; Department of Basic Education: Proposed 2028 School Calendar for public comments (a proposed calendar for public comment, not the published notice; listed as a cross-check only); Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994. Saved copies last read on .
Add the 2028 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 2028?
- School days of Term 1 start on Wednesday 12 January 2028; Monday 10 January 2028 and the day after are days for administration.
- When does Term 4 2028 end?
- The last school day is Wednesday 6 December 2028; days for administration follow until Friday 8 December 2028.
The Gazette notices and pages behind this page
- Government Gazette 55619, Notice 8081 of 23 October 2026: 2028 Calendar for public schools (copy saved )
- gov.za: National Education Policy Act: 2028 Calendar for public schools (copy saved )
- Department of Basic Education: Proposed 2028 School Calendar for public comments (a proposed calendar for public comment, not the published notice; listed as a cross-check only) (copy saved )
- Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994 (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.