Lentswe, Klerksdorp - The matric results will be announced on Monday January 13 and matriculants will be able to get their results at their respective schools the next day. The Department of Basic Education has published the 2025 school calendar, which kicks off on Wednesday January 15 for all learners. In 2024, the department made a significant change to school start dates, setting it so that schools in both coastal and inland regions would start at the same time. This will continue into 2025.
Teachers and administrators will begin the year a bit earlier, starting on Monday January 13 in preparation for learners to return.
The dates for the school terms are as follows: Term 1: January 15 to March 28; Term 2: April 8 to June 27; Term 3: July 22 to October 3 and Term 4: October 13 to December 10.
The 2025 school year comprises 200 school days across the four terms, with 27 days set aside for school holidays and six public holidays. The department has declared three additional ‘special’ school holidays, granting an extra week off. This is the week of April 28 (public holiday) to May 2.
For private schools, the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa’s (ISASA) school calendar guidelines show that students will start term earlier in 2025, and private schools will also have slightly fewer school days than their public counterparts.
According to the ISASA school calendar guidelines, all independent schools will also start on January 15 but will conclude on December 3. This is two days earlier than in 2024, when schools started on January 17.
It should be noted that there are no universal term dates or calendars that apply to all independent schools in South Africa. Many independent schools follow the public school calendar, while others follow an association calendar. Some independent schools follow their own specific calendars.
