More Than 36,000 Children to Start School for the First Time as Pupils Get Two Winter Breaks

More than 36,000 children are expected to take their first seats in Croatian primary schools this autumn, while pupils across the country will get two winter breaks during the 2026/27 school year.

The school year starts on Sept. 7, 2026, and ends on June 15, 2027. Final-year secondary students will finish earlier, on May 21. About 296,500 pupils are expected in primary schools, including approximately 36,300 first-graders. Secondary schools are expected to enroll around 147,000 students.

Of the 38,735 students who enrolled in secondary schools during the summer and autumn admission rounds, 27,331, or 70.2%, chose vocational schools. Another 10,698 students, or 28%, enrolled in grammar schools, while 706, or 1.8%, chose music and dance schools. Students who did not confirm a place can apply during the additional enrollment period, which runs from Sept. 3 to Sept. 30.

The first-grade figure remains provisional. Last year, 36,475 children entered primary school, and final figures for the new school year will become available after students are entered into the e-Matica system from Sept. 1.

A full-day primary-school pilot will continue in 62 schools. The participating schools offer free extracurricular activities, learning materials, field trips and food, including up to three meals a day, as well as a recreational break during the school day. The programme covered 11,963 pupils last year. Staff receive regular professional training, schools can form partnerships through the Small Grants programme, and the National Centre for External Evaluation of Education continues to monitor the scheme.

Modular teaching will continue in the first and second grades of vocational secondary schools. New occupations include caretaker, arborist, transport logistics technician, timber and environmental technician, archive technician, and intelligent road transport systems technician. The ministry said new textbooks and more than 2,500 other educational materials are available free of charge to students and teachers. NCVVO director Vinko Filipović said national examinations would see no major changes this year, apart from one new feature, though the supplied report ends before describing it.