School Holidays NZ 2026: Term Dates and Public Holidays

Waitangi Day 2026: Friday 6 February 2026 (RNZ (national public broadcaster)) · Easter public holidays 2026: Good Friday 3 April and Easter Monday 6 April, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar) · Term 2 length: 106 half days (New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)) · Latest Term 4 end: Friday 18 December 2026, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)

The nine dates below are the ones most families check first. Each traces to the Ministry of Education (official school calendar), the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice) or RNZ (national public broadcaster).

What are the holidays for the 2026 calendar?

The national school calendar for 2026 is set in a few places, and they agree on the main dates. Term 2 runs from Monday 20 April to Friday 3 July, according to the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice).

Four terms and four breaks make up the year, with only the start of Term 1 and the end of Term 4 open to school-set dates, as the Ministry of Education (official school calendar) explains.

What are the school holidays in New Zealand in 2026?

• Term 1 holiday: Friday 3 April to Sunday 19 April, including Good Friday (3 April), Easter Monday (6 April) and Easter Tuesday (7 April), per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Winter holidays: Saturday 4 July to Sunday 19 July, with Matariki on Friday 10 July inside the break, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Term 3 holidays: Saturday 26 September to Sunday 11 October, per govt.nz (official government portal)
• Summer holidays: from Saturday 19 December 2026, per govt.nz (official government portal)

The Easter block is the first long break of the year. At 17 days inclusive, it runs one day longer than the winter break.

Is February 18, 2026 a holiday?

• Wednesday 18 February 2026 is not on the national public holiday list in RNZ’s 2026 coverage, per RNZ (national public broadcaster)
• Waitangi Day falls twelve days earlier, on Friday 6 February, per RNZ (national public broadcaster)

Treat 18 February as an ordinary school and work day unless your school sends its own notice.

Which anniversary days are celebrated in New Zealand in 2026?

Regional anniversary days apply only in the regions named for them. The RNZ 2026 list runs from Wellington to the Chatham Islands and Westland.

• Wellington: Monday 19 January
• Auckland: Monday 26 January
• Nelson: Monday 2 February
• Taranaki: Monday 9 March
• Otago: Monday 23 March
• Southland: Tuesday 7 April
• South Canterbury: Monday 28 September
• Hawke’s Bay: Friday 23 October
• Marlborough: Monday 2 November
• Canterbury: Friday 13 November
• Westland and Chatham Islands: Monday 30 November

Auckland Anniversary Day: Monday 26 January 2026

• RNZ lists Auckland’s day as Monday 26 January 2026, per RNZ (national public broadcaster)
• The Ministry sets the Term 1 start window to open on Monday 26 January, so the holiday and the earliest start can fall on the same day, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)

Nelson Anniversary Day: Monday 2 February 2026

• Nelson’s day falls inside the Term 1 start window, which closes on Monday 9 February, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Nelson-area schools publish their own term notices, which can differ from the national window (Nelson-area school (school notice))

The catch: a regional day only matters to families in that region, so check the list against your address before you book.

What are the long weekends in 2026?

Five weekends in 2026 run three days, built from the public holiday dates reported by RNZ and the Easter dates in the Ministry of Education (official school calendar).

• Auckland Anniversary weekend: Saturday 24 to Monday 26 January
• Waitangi Day weekend: Friday 6 to Sunday 8 February
• Easter weekend: Friday 3 to Monday 6 April
• King’s Birthday weekend: Saturday 30 May to Monday 1 June
• Labour Day weekend: Saturday 24 to Monday 26 October

Which holiday weekends in 2026 are three days long?

• Easter is the only long weekend that sits inside a school break, with Good Friday and Easter Monday both public holidays, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Waitangi Day, King’s Birthday and Labour Day each take a school day, because the Friday or Monday falls in term, per RNZ (national public broadcaster)

The implication: the Easter long weekend is the one most families can plan around without cutting into term time.

What date is the end of school year 2026?

The latest Term 4 end is fixed as no later than Friday 18 December 2026, according to the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice). That makes the end of the school year a ceiling rather than a single date.

Individual schools set the final day inside that limit. A Whangārei school says its Term 4 end date is still to be confirmed, according to its own Whangārei Girls’ High School (school notice).

When does school start in New Zealand in 2026?

• Term 1 starts between Monday 26 January and Monday 9 February 2026, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Term 2 starts Monday 20 April 2026, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)
• Term 3 starts Monday 20 July 2026, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)
• Term 4 starts Monday 12 October 2026, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)

Only the Term 1 start moves much from school to school. The later terms follow fixed national dates.

How many weeks are in a New Zealand school year?

• Term 1 runs for 78 to 96 half days, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Term 2 runs for 106 half days, and Term 3 for 100 half days, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)
• Term 4 runs for up to 98 half days, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)
• Primary, intermediate and specialist schools must open for 382 half days, and secondary and composite schools for 380, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)

The Gazette counts half days, not weeks. For planning, the 382 or 380 half-day requirement is the figure that matters. Use it to judge how much teaching time a school must deliver.

To check your own school’s 2026 dates, work through these steps.

1. Start with the Ministry’s term table and note the Term 1 and Term 4 windows, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar).
2. Ask your school for its Term 1 start day, which can fall anywhere in the 26 January to 9 February window.
3. Ask for the Term 4 end date, since the Gazette caps it at 18 December.
4. Compare your region’s anniversary day against the list above.

What are all the Saturdays in 2026?

The year begins on Thursday 1 January 2026, and that single fact sets the weekend pattern for the whole year.

Why does 2026 have 53 weeks?

• Most years have 52 ISO week numbers, and 2026 has 53 because it starts on a Thursday.
• The extra week is a numbering quirk. It does not add a school holiday, since terms run on their own published dates, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar).

What are the weekend dates for 2026?

• January Saturdays fall on 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31.
• 2026 has 52 Saturdays in total.
• State schools must close on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, under the Ministry’s rules, per the Ministry of Education (school closure rules).

The implication: the weekend count rarely changes a family’s plans, while the long weekends above do.

Key dates in order

• Monday 26 January: Auckland Anniversary Day, per RNZ (national public broadcaster)
• Monday 2 February: Nelson Anniversary Day, per RNZ (national public broadcaster)
• Friday 6 February: Waitangi Day, per RNZ (national public broadcaster)
• Thursday 2 April: Term 1 ends, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Friday 3 to Sunday 19 April: Term 1 holidays, including Good Friday and Easter Monday, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Monday 20 April: Term 2 starts, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)
• Monday 27 April: Anzac Day observed, inside Term 2, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Monday 1 June: King’s Birthday, per RNZ (national public broadcaster)
• Friday 3 July: Term 2 ends, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)
• Saturday 4 to Sunday 19 July: Winter holidays, with Matariki on Friday 10 July, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Friday 25 September: Term 3 ends, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)
• Monday 12 October: Term 4 starts, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)
• Monday 26 October: Labour Day, per the Ministry of Education (official school calendar)
• Friday 18 December: Latest Term 4 end, per the New Zealand Gazette (legal notice)
• Saturday 19 December: Summer holidays begin no later than this date, per govt.nz (official government portal)

The pattern: the first four months carry most of the year’s public holidays and anniversary days, so that is where a school-day check pays off first.

Confirmed facts and open questions

The catch: the Term 4 end is the one date where the confirmed and unclear columns still disagree, so hold off on December plans until the school replies.

What the official wording says

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.

Ministry of Education (official school calendar)

State and state-integrated schools and kura must close on Saturdays and Sundays, public holidays and observed provincial anniversary days, and the Tuesday following Easter.

Ministry of Education (school closure rules)

Term 1 starts between Monday 26 January and Monday 9 February at the latest. Term 3 has no public holidays.

RNZ (national public broadcaster)

What this means: the school-set dates are the ones to verify, while Terms 2 and 3 can be planned from the national listing today.

What to do with these dates

For a parent in Auckland planning a trip around Easter, the choice is clear: lock in the Easter block, which the Ministry of Education (official school calendar) lists from Friday 3 to Sunday 19 April, and phone your school before paying for anything that depends on the Term 1 start or the Term 4 finish.

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