SG School HolidaysSchool holidays that are not public holidays
A few days each year close the schools and leave the offices open. MOE puts them in the school calendar; they are not in the Holidays Act, so there is no statutory day off, no off in lieu and no public-holiday pay. That is the whole reason they catch working parents: you check the public holiday list, find nothing, and the school gate is shut anyway.
The dates for 2026
| Holiday | Day off | Who is off | Your office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Day | Monday, 6 July 2026 | All schools | Open |
| Teachers' Day | Friday, 4 September 2026 | All schools | Open |
| Children's Day | Friday, 2 October 2026 | Primary schools only | Open |
MOE names Youth Day on Sunday, 5 July 2026. That falls on a weekend, so the school holiday is taken on the day shown above.
Every date above is from the MOE press release for 2026.
The dates for 2027
| Holiday | Day off | Who is off | Your office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Day | Monday, 5 July 2027 | All schools | Open |
| Day after National Day | Tuesday, 10 August 2027 | All schools | Open |
| Teachers' Day | Friday, 3 September 2027 | All schools | Open |
| Children's Day | Friday, 8 October 2027 | Primary schools only | Open |
MOE names Youth Day on Sunday, 4 July 2027. That falls on a weekend, so the school holiday is taken on the day shown above.
Every date above is from the MOE press release for 2027.
Does your office close? No
Gazetted public holidays come from the Holidays Act. These days come from MOE’s school calendar. Different instrument, different effect. Nothing about a school holiday obliges an employer to close, to grant a day in lieu if it falls on your rest day, or to pay a public-holiday rate.
That asymmetry is the practical problem, and it is worth naming plainly. On these days a two-income household has a child at home and two people expected at work. Nobody sends a reminder, because the day is not on the calendar your employer uses.
Whether any of these is also a public holiday is a separate question with a separate answer. Teachers’ Day in particular gets asked both ways.
Is Teachers’ Day a public holiday in Singapore →Youth Day
- Monday, 6 July 2026
- Monday, 5 July 2027
Youth Day falls on a Sunday in both published school years: 5 July 2026 and 4 July 2027. MOE grants the school holiday on the Monday after, so the day your child is at home is Monday 6 July 2026, and Monday 5 July 2027.
It is the only one of the four that sits in the middle of a term with nothing on either side of it. Term 3 starts on 29 June 2026 and on 28 June 2027, so Youth Day lands in the second week back. Nothing lengthens it and nothing absorbs it. Of the four days on this page, this is the one you will have to cover on its own.
It is not a public holiday. Offices run a normal Monday.
The day after National Day
- Not scheduled in 2026
- Tuesday, 10 August 2027
This one exists in 2027 and does not exist in 2026. It is the only one of the four that MOE does not schedule every year.
In 2027, National Day is Monday 9 August and it is a public holiday. MOE schedules the day after, Tuesday 10 August 2027, as a school holiday. Children get a four-day weekend. Their parents get a three-day one, and the Tuesday is the day the gap opens.
In 2026, National Day falls on Sunday 9 August, so Monday 10 August is already the gazetted public holiday in lieu. MOE’s 2026 release schedules no separate day after National Day, and this site shows none. If you have learned the four-day pattern from a year like 2027, 2026 will catch you.
Teachers’ Day
- Friday, 4 September 2026
- Friday, 3 September 2027
Last day of term. The September Holidays run from Saturday, 5 September 2026 to Sunday, 13 September 2026.
Friday 4 September 2026, and Friday 3 September 2027. In both years MOE lists that Friday as the last day of Term 3 and also as a school holiday, so the last day children are actually in school is the Thursday, and the September holidays run on from there without a break in between.
The practical consequence is worth spelling out. Teachers’ Day costs you no separate day of cover. It is not a stray day in the middle of a term, it is the front edge of the September break. If you are planning the September holidays, start counting from the Thursday evening.
ITE closes for its own ITE Teachers’ Day on Friday 4 September 2026, the same date, according to its academic calendar. The five polytechnics publish no equivalent college holiday.
Polytechnic and ITE holidays →Children’s Day
- Friday, 2 October 2026 · Primary schools only
- Friday, 8 October 2027 · Primary schools only
Friday 2 October 2026, and Friday 8 October 2027. MOE lists it for primary schools only.
This is the only one of the four where siblings are not off together. A household with a Primary 5 and a Secondary 2 child has one at home and one in school on the same working Friday. Secondary schools, junior colleges and the Millennia Institute are not included, and run a normal day.
It sits inside Term 4 in both years and attaches to nothing, so like Youth Day it is a full day of cover for the younger child, on a day the older one still needs the usual morning routine.
The count is not the same every year
There are 3 of these days in 2026 and 4 in 2027. Anyone who has learned the list as a fixed four a year will be off by one in 2026.
The variable is the day after National Day. MOE schedules it only where the day is not already covered. In 2026 National Day falls on a Sunday, Monday 10 August is the gazetted holiday in lieu, and no separate school day off is needed. So the year you lose one of these is the year you gain a public holiday instead, which is the better trade for a working parent, because a public holiday closes the office too.
Where the day off actually comes from
Three or four scattered single days is the exact shape statutory childcare leave is built for. A working parent of a Singapore Citizen child under seven gets six days of government-paid childcare leave a year, and it does not carry into the next year. A stray Monday is also the one thing a holiday camp cannot cover, because camps are sold by the week. Spending one or two of the six here fits better than spending them inside the June break, where a camp or a grandparent can hold a whole week at once.
Childcare leave, and how to spend it →Common questions
When is Youth Day 2027?
Youth Day 2027 is Sunday 4 July. Because it falls on a Sunday, the school holiday is taken on Monday 5 July 2027. In 2026 it is Sunday 5 July, taken on Monday 6 July.
Is Youth Day a public holiday in Singapore?
No. Youth Day is a school holiday scheduled by MOE, not a gazetted public holiday. Schools close, workplaces do not, and there is no public-holiday pay or day in lieu attached to it.
Is Teachers’ Day a school holiday?
Yes. Teachers’ Day is a school holiday on Friday 4 September 2026 and Friday 3 September 2027, and in both years it is the last day of Term 3, so the September school holidays follow straight on. Whether it is a public holiday is a different question, and the answer is no.
Do secondary schools close on Children’s Day?
No. MOE schedules Children’s Day for primary schools only. Secondary schools, junior colleges and the Millennia Institute run a normal school day, which is why it is the one day of the four where siblings at different levels are not off together.
How many school holidays are not public holidays?
3 in 2026 and 4 in 2027. The count moves because the day after National Day is scheduled only when National Day is not already followed by a public holiday.
Do I get these days off work?
No, unless your employer chooses to give them. They are not in the Holidays Act, so there is no statutory entitlement. The usual ways to cover them are annual leave, childcare leave for a citizen child under seven, or a student care centre.