School holidays in Singapore: 2024-2025

School breaks are the perfect time to spend fun and quality time with your children. For parents, knowing these dates is crucial for planning holidays, family visits, and exciting activities. It’s also important to arrange any childcare in advance if you’ll be working on these days.

Keep reading for the 2024 Singapore school holidays, as well as the following topics:

An overview of Singaporean school holidays

The education system in Singapore offers strong academics and plenty of options for expats and local parents. The Ministry of Education (MOE) manages the public school system, whereas private schools must manage their dates themselves and have them registered and approved by the MOE.

In both systems, school holidays in Singapore remain the same, however, there are differences between term and administrative dates, as well as institution-specific days off.

When are the public school holidays in Singapore?

Public schools in Singapore run four terms per year, with at least a week-long break in between. Here are the 2024 term dates for public primary and secondary institutions:

• Term 1: 2 January – 8 March 2024
• Term 2: 18 March – 24 May 2024
• Term 3: 24 June – 30 August 2024
• Term 4: 9 September – 15 November 2024

Since public schools operate for the whole calendar year, there are several extra days off. For public school students, these are:

When are international school breaks in Singapore?

While Singapore offers excellent public schools, many expat families prefer to enroll their children in international schools. These institutions offer a diverse student body, education in different languages, and various curricula.

Since international schools set their own calendars, holidays will differ between institutions. However, most will set their vacation within the following periods:

• A week or more off in October
• Two or three weeks off at the end of December, leading into January
• A week off at the end of March, leading into April
• Summer break from mid-June to mid-August

Most of these institutions run on a two-semester system that runs from the middle of August through December and then from early January through the middle or end of June.

Singaporean public holidays: 2024–2025

Although international schools set their own term dates, they, like public schools, will respect the public holidays in Singapore as set by the Ministry of Education. These special dates range from religious celebrations to governmental observances.

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Public holidays in Singapore

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The national holidays for the 2024 school year are:

Childcare during school holidays

If your child has school holidays when you have work, you may need to find childcare. Some local day care centers in Singapore offer extended hours, even during national holidays. So, if your child is already enrolled at one of these, be sure to check with them first.

Otherwise, you can search for other childcare services in your local area. Managed by the Early Childhood Development Agency, the various levels of childcare are:

• Infant Care Center (Class A license): Serves children aged 2 to 18 months
• Child Care Center (Class B license): For children aged 18 months to 7 years old. These centers may also operate on weekends and after-work hours.
• Kindergarten (Class C license): For children between 18 months and 7 years old. Kindergartens do not operate on weekends

Make sure to ask about factors such as hours of operation and whether your child can attend during school holidays.

You can also ask for recommendations within your local expat circles – trusted community members often provide the best referrals for your situation.

Alternatively, the government has a Preschool Portal which offers various childcare options for parents. For more infrequent child care, you can find a qualified babysitter online through sites like NannySOS or Babysits.

Fun vacation camps in Singapore

If your little ones are looking for a summer of excitement, learning, and making new friends, you can find plenty of diverse holiday establishments to suit your child’s needs. From day-camps to overnight options, children can learn to cook, play sports, dance, code, and more in the institution of their choice.

Here are some of the most popular ones in Singapore:

• Camp Asia
• Centre Stage
• Centaurs Camp
• SuperCamp
• Into the Wild
• Newton Show Camp
• Kids Camp Singapore
• Outdoor School
• Wildlings
• Tomato Cooking School Holiday Camp