Feature Articles > International Curriculum Info: Definitions Between Curricula, School Systems and Exams > Comparative Ages, Stages and Exams in the UK
Comparative examination ages and stages within the UK
To use this table...
Find the age of the child. If the child is 6, use the row for 6. You can see from this that if the child attends a school in England and is 6 between September and August, he will be in Y1 at the KS1 stage of education. In Scotland those children aged 6 between 1st September and 29th February will be in P2, but those who will be 6 between 1st March and 31st August will be in P1. Same for for NI, although the cut off date for the school year is 30th June.
Table showing comparative school years for children in the UK education sectors | ||||||||||
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| England & Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Independent Sector | ||||||
Birthday Between | 1 Sept & 31 Aug | 1 Sept & 29 Feb | 1 Mar & 31 Aug | 1 Sept & 30 June | 1 July & 31 August | 1 Sept & 31 Aug or as per country | ||||
Age | School Year | Exam/ Stage | School Year | School Year | School Year | Exam/ Stage | School Year | Exam/ Stage | School Year | Exam/Stage |
5 | R | KS1 | P1 |
| P1 | KS1 |
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| R | Pre-prep |
6 | Y1 | KS1 | P2 | P1 | P2 | KS1 | P1 | KS1 | F1 |
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7 | Y2 | KS1* | P3 | P2 | P3 | KS1 | P2 | KS1 | F2 | Prep Sch assessment* |
8 | Y3 | KS2 | P4 | P3 | P4 | KS1 | P3 | KS1 | i | Prep-school |
9 | Y4 | KS2 | P5 | P4 | P5 | KS2 | P4 | KS1 | ii |
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10 | Y5 | KS2 | P6 | P5 | P6 | KS2 | P5 | KS2 | iii |
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11 | Y6 | KS2* | P7 | P6 | P7 | KS2 | P6 | KS2 | iv |
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12 | Y7 | KS3 | S1 | P7 | Y8 | KS3 | P7 | KS2 | v |
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13 | Y8 | KS3 | S2 | S1 | Y9 | KS3 | Y8 | KS3 | vi | CE* |
14 | Y9 | KS3* | S3 | S2 | Y10 | KS3 | Y9 | KS3 | LIV | Senior School |
15 | Y10 | KS4 | S4 Std grade* | S3 | Y11 | GCSE* | Y10 | KS3 | UIV |
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16 | Y11 | GCSE* | S5 Higher* | S4 Std grade* | Y12 | AS* | Y11 | GCSE* | V | GCSE* |
17 | Y12 | AS* | S6 Adv Higher* | S5 Higher* | Y13 | A2* | Y12 | AS* | LVI | AS or IB* |
18 | Y13 | A2* |
| S6 Adv Higher* |
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| Y13 | A2* | UVI | A2 or IB* |
*Pupils sit public examinations at this point
CE = common entrance
KS =Key Stage
IB= International Baccalaureate also known as International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) for students aged 16 – 18
IBMYP = Middle years programme of the International Baccalaureate for children aged 11-16. Operates in a couple of UK schools as well as overseas schools
IBPYP = Primary years programme of the International Baccalaureate - for children aged 3 to 11. Operates in a couple of UK schools as well as overseas schools
N=Nursery
R=Reception
I=Infants
P=Primary
S=Senior
Y=Year