Here's why the December school holiday will be shorter this year

If you're anything like the parents of Rondebosch East Primary School in Cape Town, you may have received a letter from your school regarding the later start to this year's December holidays. 

The 2018 December holiday begins Thursday 13 December and ends Tuesday 8 January, giving 19 weekdays off to learners, 27 including weekends and the 4 public holidays. 

Parent24 has been advised that the School Governing Body of Rondebosch East Primary is planning to apply to the Western Cape Education Department's HOD, Brian Schreuder, for an earlier closing date. 

This application, we are told, is intended for their learners only, while closing and opening dates for their teaching staff will remain unchanged. 

Also see: 

• PRINT IT: SA's school holiday 2018 calendar
• PRINT IT: SA's school holidays 2019 calendar
  

Parent24 contacted the department to find out why and received comment from its Communications Director, Bronagh Hammond.

"The school calendar is determined at a national level. I note that school holidays will begin on 14 December 2018 for educators – making it a 203 day school year. Schools then re-open on 7 January 2019 for educators, for a 203 day school year. Therefore the number of days is not affected. 

"However, it was recommended that the calendar should be synchronised with examination processes. This would entail ending the academic year [2019] in the first week instead of the second week of December to allow for markers to be released for the end of the year National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination processes.

"Therefore, schools will close [next year] on 4 December (6th for educators) – which is early. However, the number of days in 2018 and 2019 still remain the same." 

Enquiries about how long the 2018 and 2019 school years is/will be for learners were also made, and we'll update this article when we receive a response. 

Do you think schools should be allowed to end the school year for learners earlier than the current 13 December starting date? Tell us by emailing to chatback@parent24.com and we could publish your letter. Do let us know if you'd like to stay anonymous.  

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