diff --git a/.env b/.env
index ddb116d..df26972 100644
--- a/.env
+++ b/.env
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-PYTHON_VERSION=3.6
+PYTHON_VERSION=3.8
 POSTGRES_VERSION=9.6
 POSTGIS_VERSION=2.5
 MYSQL_VERSION=8
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 944d8ac..7e959a2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ To enter a bash shell within the container, run:
 | Environment Variable | Default | Description |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | `DJANGO_PATH` | None | The path to the Django codebase on your local machine |
-| `PYTHON_VERSION` | `3.6` | The python version to run tests against |
+| `PYTHON_VERSION` | `3.8` | The python version to run tests against |
 | `POSTGRES_VERSION` | `9.6` | The version of Postgres to use |
 | `MYSQL_VERSION` | `8` | The mysql version to use |
 | `MARIADB_VERSION` | `10.4` | The mariadb version to use |