School Term & Holiday Dates
We provide you with all of the important information you need to help plan your family holidays or work holidays.
Australian Capital Territory school holiday dates usually occur at similar times each year and term length always sits between 9-11 weeks. Remember to check with your school regarding additional pupil-free days. Private and independent school dates will vary and it is worth noting that in general Year 10, 11 and 12 students have different finishing dates to the other grades in term 4.
If you would like to know public holiday dates please visit our sister site ACT Public Holidays for everything you need to know about public holidays in the Australian Capital Territory.
The information presented on this website does not take into account Student Free Days which are set by each school individually.
Private and catholic schools tend to use these dates as a guide but their dates sometimes differ slightly from state run public schools.
Information on these calendars is gathered from education department or government sources. We recommend double checking information against official education and government websites to confirm the dates are correct. From time to time the data on this website are updated to keep the information up to date.
ACT Schooling Information
The formal schooling system in the Australian Capital Territory varies from other states in Australia. The main difference is that in many other states, high school finishes in Year 12. In the ACT, high school finishes at the end of Year 10 and from there the students may go to Secondary College to progress through to the end of Year 12.
Early Childhood School – Preschool to Year 2. A child does not have to progress to Year 2 in Early Childhood School. They may go from Early Childhood School to Year 1 at a Primary School. Alternatively they may finish Year 2 at Early Childhood School and then commence Primary School in Year 3.
Primary School (Public) – Year 1 to Year 6. Any child that is five years old or turning five on or before April 30.
High School (Public) – Year 7 to Year 10.
Secondary College (Public) – Year 11 to Year 12. Students may progress to Secondary College at the completion of Year 10.