WCED clarifies confusion about last day of school

Schools in the Western Cape, as well as the rest of the country, will officially close on Wednesday 12 December. The Western Cape Education Department issued a statement to clarify some of the confusion around the closure dates for the 2018 school year.

School holidays will begin on

Wednesday 12 December for learners and Friday 14 December for educators - making it a 199-day school year for learners and a 203-day year for educators.

If any schools have issued letters indicating that they are closing earlier than 12 December 2018, they are acting illegally.

These schools were informed well in advance of the dates for the 2018 school year.

School holidays not shorter

It must be noted that the perception that school holidays have been drastically cut, is untrue. Last year had 197 school days two days less than this year.

The number of days that learners and educators have for school holidays therefore remains almost the same in 2018. Of the 365 days in a calendar year, learners attend school 199 days.

Therefore 166 days are spent on holidays and weekends. Schools will re-open on Wednesday 9 January 2019 for a 199-day school year.