The Minister of Basic Education Angie Mothshekga has gazetted the proposed school calendar for the 2024 school year, starting in January 2024. The school calendar for 2024 features a significant change to when learners in different provinces return and leave school.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) will look to end the staggered school calendar which saw learners return to school on different dates at the start of the new school year.
Schools Reopening For 2024
Schools around the country will open on 17 January 2024 for the first term of the 2024 school year and will close 46 school days later on 20 March 2024. We have the rest of the term dates for you as well.
School Terms 2024
The second term will run for 52 school days from 3 April 2024 to 14 June 2024 while the third term will have one extra day running from 9 July 2024 to 20 September 2024. The final term will commence on 1 October 2024 with the school year ending on 11 December 2024.
Here’s The School Calendar For 2024
The Department of Basic Education has officially released the school calendar for 2024. All public schools will follow this calendar and the dates for starting and finishing each term. Independent (also known as private) schools are free to have different starting and ending dates to their terms, but in practice most will stick fairly closely to the official SA school calendar.
Public and School Holidays for 2024
New Year's Day 1 January 2024
Human Rights Day 21 March 2024
Good Friday 29 March 2024
Family Day 1 April 2024
Freedom Day 27 April 2024
Workers Day 1 May 2024
Youth Day 16 June 2024
Public Holiday 17 June 2024
National Women's Day 9 August 2024
Heritage Day 24 September 2024
Day of Reconciliation 16 December 2024
Christmas Day 25 December 2024
Day of Goodwill 26 December 2024
The End of Staggered School Terms in SA
Previously, when the school year started depended on the province a school was situated in. This staggered school calendar saw schools in South Africa divided into two clusters. The coastal cluster and the inland cluster would return to schools on different dates.
The Inland group consists of the Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West. The coastal cluster featured the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape and the Western Cape.
The Department didn't immediately explain why this change has been made. There will be the same number of teaching days each year. The impact might be felt at holiday resorts where more families will be present during the school holiday period - which will now be squeezed into a shorter period of time.
Download the School Calendar for 2024 PDF Document
SA-School-Holidays-Terms-Calendar-2024.pdf
