site.btaNew 2025/2026 School Year Begins in over 2,300 Schools across Country

The new 2025/2026 school year began on Monday in over 2,300 schools across the country, with around 57,000 first-graders, a total of over 716,000 students, and 95,500 teachers.

Around 57,000 first-graders are expected in the new 2025/2026 school year. This is less than in previous years, but it is a projection of overall demographic trends, said Minister of Education and Science Krasimir Valchev in a Bulgarian National Interview on Sunday.

Over 2,300 schools across the country are opening their doors on Monday to welcome their students. The total number of students from first to twelfth grade who will cross the school threshold is over 716,000. Over 95,500 teaching professionals will work in kindergartens and schools, of which about 74,000 will be in schools and about 20,000 in kindergartens.

The new school year began on September 1 in 405 Bulgarian Sunday schools in 43 countries on six continents, said the Ministry of Education and Science.

At the end of August, the Ministry of Education and Science approved the schedule for the school year, which had previously been published for public consideration. As initially proposed by the Ministry, the days from October 31 to November 3 will be holidays for students and teachers. The Christmas vacation will be from December 24 to January 4, and the spring vacation for students in grades 1 to 11 will be from April 4 to April 13. For future high school graduates, the vacation will start a little later, on April 8.

The break between the two terms will last three days, from January 31 to February 2. Traditionally, the days of the final exams will also be non-school days (May 20, 22, June 17, 19).

The Ministry of Education and Science recalled that, on the initiative of the Minister of Education and Science Krasimir Valchev, changes were made to the Ordinance on the Organization of Activities in School Education, which allowed for a more flexible distribution of teaching time and ensured a more beneficial break for students and teaching professionals.