The current calendar for South African public schools shows that there will be an extra three holidays in 2025 thanks to ‘special school holidays’.According to the calendar, the 2025 school year will commence on 15 January and conclude on 12 December.
It’s worth noting that 2025 is expected to have 27 standard school holidays, which is an increase from the 25 holidays in 2024.However, unlike 2024, next year is expected to have three special school holidays. These holidays will be on the following dates:In South Africa, the Department of Basic Education and relevant stakeholders are allowed to grant special school holidays whenever they deem them appropriate.
This is because, According to section 2 of the Act, “whenever a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be a public holiday”. The 2025 calendar will also observe six official public holidays during the school term compared to the two observed this year.The department has had to make these changes to the calendar to make up for teaching losses felt during the Covid-19 pandemic, which severely hampered teaching capacity and learner hours.