Schools get an extra week off during April

CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit speaks to Elijah Mhlanga, Spokesperson for the Department of Basic Education.

Listen below:

The first term is officially done and dusted.

While kids enjoy a break after today, in term two, they will have extra time off.

In the second term of the 2025 South African school calendar, there's a special school holiday week added to the calendar from 29 April to 2 May in addition to regular public holidays.

The special holiday week is due to some public holidays in April falling over weekends but observed during the week.

Here's a breakdown of the relevant details:

Term two dates: Schools reopen on 8 April and close on 26 June.

Public holidays:
- Good Friday: 18 April (Friday)
- Family Day: 21 April (Monday)
- Freedom Day: 27 April (Sunday)
- Workers' Day: 1 May (Thursday)
- Youth Day: 16 June (Monday)

It's all because Freedom Day (27 April) is on a Sunday which means the public holiday falls on Monday while Workers Day (1 May) is on a Thursday. These special holiday days are being observed during the week this year while the Department of Education has given schools Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday off - equating to an additional holiday week.

Mhlanga says this decision was made three years ago because the Department works three years in advance, giving the public and everyone involved in the school calendar enough time to plan, so there are no surprises when the time comes.

Mhlanga urges the public to be aware of annual school calendars because it is often forgotten or overlooked when planning for the academic year.

"We look at the ordinary calendar of the country and ask what can we do to make sure we get our 200 school days... April is a problem... there are about 10 working days there which makes it difficult to find school days when all the holidays are there and it's even worse when these holidays take place in the middle of the week."

- Elijah Mhlanga, Spokesperson - Department of Basic Education

"The interest of the Department of Basic Education is to find school days, to make sure it's 200... it should at least be 197... What then do we do to protect teaching and learning? How effective will it be if we see there will be disruptions? We then decide on special holidays."

- Elijah Mhlanga, Spokesperson - Department of Basic Education

"These holidays are congested in a particular week with one coming after the other, making it impossible for schools to remain open for an extended period because people also have their own plans - April is a huge religious holiday as well because of Easter and people travel..."

- Elijah Mhlanga, Spokesperson - Department of Basic Education

"The advantage we give people is to send this out at least 18 months to two years before the year so that you can make your plans."

- Elijah Mhlanga, Spokesperson - Department of Basic Education

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the conversation.