New Zealand school holidays 2028

2028 school terms# Primary and intermediate school terms and holidays 2028 calendar DownloadICS | 478KB Secondary and composite school terms and holidays 2028 calendar DownloadICS | 478KB Term 1 (up to 11 weeks)# Starts between Monday 31 January and Tuesday 8 February and ends Thursday 13 April 2028 (96-106 half days). Public holidays: Waitangi Day – Sunday 6 February observed on Monday 7 February. Term 2 (10 weeks)# Monday 1 May to Friday 7 July 2028 (98 half days). Public holidays: King’s Birthday – Monday 5 June. Term 3 (10 weeks)# Monday 24 July to Friday 29 September 2028 (100 half days). Term 4 (up to 9 weeks)# Monday 16 October to no later than Friday 15 December 2028 (up to 88 half days). Public holiday: Labour Day – Monday 23 October. Half-day opening requirement 2028# Primary, intermediate and specialist schools are required to be open for instruction for a minimum of 382 half days in 2028. Secondary and composite schools are required to be open for instruction for a minimum of 380 half days in 2028. Schools have flexibility to choose the start and end dates of their school year, so long as they start between Monday 31 January and Tuesday 8 February, and end no later than 15 December 2028. 2028 school holidays# Term 1# Friday 14 April to Sunday 30 April 2028. Public holiday: Good Friday – 14 April, Easter Monday – 17 April, Easter Tuesday – 18 April (a school holiday), Anzac Day – Tuesday 25 April. Term 2# Saturday 8 July to Sunday 23 July 2028. Public holiday: Matariki – Friday 14 July. Term 3# Saturday 30 September to Sunday 15 October 2028. Summer holidays# Start no later than Saturday 16 December 2028 and run for 5 or 6 weeks (from school's closing date until opening date of school the following year). Cohort entry dates# Find out about the 2025-2026 and 2027-2028 dates for cohort entry. Terms, holidays and cohort entry dates 2025-2026 DownloadDOCX | 73KB Terms, holidays and cohort entry dates 2027-2028 DownloadDOCX | 60KB Why schools have different term dates# Schools and kura kaupapa Māori have some flexibility to decide when Term 1 starts, and when Term 4 finishes. Terms 2 and 3 are fixed. Where possible, we align the end of the first term with the Easter holidays. This can make Term 1 shorter or longer depending on when Easter falls. There is a set amount of teaching time that schools must be open for each year. Having flexible dates allows each school to meet this requirement and accommodate local events and teacher-only days. Secondary schools need to open for slightly fewer days per year than primary and intermediate schools. They may close earlier at the end of the year. When schools will close# During a school term, schools will close for: Saturdays and Sundays teacher-only days public holidays and local anniversary days the Tuesday following Easter Monday any emergency that requires the school to close. Schools might also choose to close for local events like gala and show days, or for religious holidays in some communities. Public holidays and anniversary dates – Employment New Zealand If you're not happy with your school's term dates# We encourage schools to align term dates with other local schools where possible. If your family is impacted by variation in term dates between local schools, you can talk to your principal. Early childhood services and private schools# Some early childhood services choose to follow the school terms and holidays. Full-time daycare services are usually open through the school holidays but close over Christmas. Check with your service. Private schools can have different terms and holidays. They can also open on Easter Tuesday. Check with the school or service. Past years#