School holidays in South Africa 2022, 2023, 2024

In this publication, the School-Holidays.Info will provide information about school holidays in South Africa 2022, 2023, 2024. Here are the dates of holidays and special days when students do not study.

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Features of school holidays in South Africa

South Africa is located in the southern hemisphere, where the seasons are quite different from ours. When we have summer, they have winter; when we have autumn, they have spring. And vice versa. Therefore, vacation dates for the seasons in South Africa are shifted by half a year relative to ours.

The school year in South Africa starts in January and ends in December. It is divided into quarters, separated by periods of rest for schoolchildren. In order not to get confused, we give the approximate dates of school holidays by month:

Summer holidays: from December to January;
Autumn holidays: from March to April;
Winter holidays: from June to July;
Spring break: late September or early October to October.

Important!

The Department of Basic Education may change school holiday dates. The adjustments come into effect upon signing by the Minister of Basic Education. They may be related to force majeure, for example, as was the case with the COVID-19 pandemic.

School holidays in South Africa and clusters

The territory of South Africa (South Africa) is divided into two clusters, inland and coastal. They differ in the dates of the summer and autumn holidays. As a rule, summer holidays in the inner cluster end earlier than in the coastal one. But the autumn holidays start a week later. Below are the provinces that are included in the inland and coastal clusters:

Internal cluster:

Free State;
Gauteng;
Limpopo;
Mpumalanga;
Northwest (Northwest Province).

Coastal Cluster:

Eastern Cape;
KwaZulu-Ntal (KwaZulu-Natal);
Northern Cape;
Western Cape.

Apart from regular holidays, schools are closed on public holidays. Sometimes the Ministry of Basic Education makes special holidays for schoolchildren. Usually there are two such days in the academic year. Sometimes vacation dates for schoolchildren in private institutions may differ by one week from public ones.

School holidays in South Africa 2022

Autumn holidays in the inner cluster: from March 18 to April 4;
Autumn holidays in the coastal cluster: from March 26 to April 4;
Winter holidays: from June 25 to July 18;
Spring break: from 1 to 10 October;
Summer holidays in the inner cluster: from December 15/16, 2022 to January 9/11, 2023;
Summer holidays in the coastal cluster: from December 15/16, 2022 to January 16/18, 2023.

Holidays in South Africa in 2022

January 1 – New Year;
March 21 – Human Rights Day;
April 15 – Good Friday;
April 18 – Family Day;
April 27 – Freedom Day;
May 1 – Workers’ Day;
May 2 – Public holiday (celebrating the Day of workers);
June 16 – Youth Day;
June 17 – school holiday;
August 8 – school holiday;
August 9 – National Women’s Day;
September 24 – Heritage Day;
December 16 – Reconciliation Day;
December 25 – Christmas;
December 26 – Goodwill Day;
December 27 is a public holiday.

School holidays in South Africa 2023

Summer holidays in the inner cluster: from December 15/16, 2022 to January 9/11, 2023;
Summer holidays in the coastal cluster: from December 15/16, 2022 to January 16/18, 2023.
Autumn holidays in the inner cluster: from March 25 to April 12;
Autumn holidays in the coastal cluster: from March 31 to April 12;
Winter holidays: from June 24 to July 17;
Spring break: from September 30 to October 9;
Summer holidays in the inner cluster: from December 13/15, 2023 to January 8/10, 2024 (tentatively);
Summer holidays in the coastal cluster: from December 13/15, 2023 to January 15/17, 2024 (tentative).

Holidays in South Africa in 2023

January 1 – New Year;
January 2 – Public holiday;
March 20 – special school holidays;
March 21 – Human Rights Day;
April 7 – Good Friday;
April 10 – Family Day;
April 27 – Freedom Day;
April 28 is a special school holiday;
May 1 – Workers’ Day;
June 16 – Youth Day;
August 9 – National Women’s Day;
September 24 – Heritage Day;
September 25 – National holiday;
December 16 – Reconciliation Day;
December 25 – Christmas;
December 26 – Goodwill Day.

School holidays in South Africa 2024

Below are the tentative vacation dates in schools in South Africa in 2024. Documents submitted but not signed. Most likely, the dates will remain the same, but for the coastal cluster, the end of the summer holidays and the beginning of the autumn holidays will be shifted by a week.

Summer holidays in the inner cluster: from December 13/15, 2023 to January 8/10, 2024;
Summer holidays in the coastal cluster: from December 13/15, 2023 to January 15/17, 2024;
Autumn holidays in the inner cluster: from March 21 to April 8;
Autumn holidays in the coastal cluster: from March 28 to April 8;
Winter holidays: from June 29 to July 22;
Spring break: from 5 to 14 October;
Summer holidays in both clusters: from 12/14 December 2024.

Holidays in South Africa in 2024

January 1 – New Year;
March 21 – Human Rights Day;
March 22 is a special school holiday;
March 29 – Good Friday;
April 1 – Family Day;
April 27 – Freedom Day;
May 1 – Workers’ Day;
June 16 – Youth Day;
June 17 – State holiday;
August 9 – National Women’s Day;
September 23 – special school holiday;
September 24 – Heritage Day;
December 16 – Reconciliation Day;
December 25 – Christmas;
December 26 – Goodwill Day.

useful links

Official website of the Department of Basic Education.
Education system in South Africa.
List of international schools in South Africa.

In this publication, we talked about school holidays in South Africa 2022, 2023, 2024. As a reminder, the dates are subject to change depending on the instructions of the Department of Basic Education and the Minister of Basic Education. We will track them and make adjustments. We hope the article was useful to you. Don’t forget to share the post with your friends!