To want to reiterate that 'yes' it's August and 'yes' Scottish schools are back

[MammyV]

Honestly on every post on here which mentions a child being in school at the moment, someone, at least one poster states 'are you abroad or something' or 'why are your kids in school it's only august?'
Please please understand that most Scottish schools commence back after summer from around the 15th August, we are not abroad, we are in the Uk (at the moment anyway) and I am fully aware of the English/Welsh holidays as its blasted a cross the BBC enough, just irritates me with some of the comments
(Will get off my Scottish high horse now)
Thanks xxx

How can Reception be more like nursery?

I've never understood what "reception" is.

My son went to pre - school junior nursery when he was 3 and pre - school nursery when he was 4 which were part of the school he was going to but these are not compulsory. Had we wished , we could just have enrolled him into P1. I don't recall him being taught anything formal at nursery.

I dont mind other parents not being aware of the schools in Scotland having different holidays to Scotland, sometimes its hard enough keeping up with other areas holidays never mind other countries, but it does annoy me when the media seem to have no idea even though they cover the whole of the UK

and I remember having a gripe last year when the homepage here was showing a big "Back to school" feature in the middle of September and I got the hump and starting a thread to complain

thetrouble are they maybe coming from private daycare nurseries ?

Ooo yes I might have been on that thread ssd or maybe the one the year before about back to school adverts no back to school adverts early August was there

Is reception not just P1 then? I always thought they were equivalent.
The scottish system is loosely based thus:

Age 3 - nursery
Age 4 - nursery

then

Age 5 - P1
Age 6 - P2
Age 7 - P3
Age 8 - P4
Age 9 - P5
Age 10 - P6
Age 11 - P7

then

Age 12 - S1
Age 13 - S2
Age 14 - S3
Age 15 - S4
Age 16 - S5
Age 17 - S6

P = Primary
S = Secondary

Would someone be good enough to write down the English/Welsh system with ages. I always gets confused as to the age of children when they are described as being in YrX.

And just what is reception all about? Thank you.

MrEBear, that is how I convert it!

For English schools, you start year 7 at the age of 11 and before the end of that academic year you will be 12. If your birthday is 1 September you are the oldest in the year and you could actually well be 12 by the time term starts.

That is how I remember the ages 1st year = 11/12 year olds, 2nd year = 12/13 year olds etc

I think reception is a bit inbetweeny pictish

For English schools, you start year 7 at the age of 11 and before the end of that academic year you will be 12. If your birthday is 1 September you are the oldest in the year and you could actually well be 12 by the time term starts.

Yes but in Scotland, some children starting P7 now are only 10, and won't be 11 until January or February next year. Due to the cut off dates there will always be a six month mismatch in trying to compare year groups between England/Wales and Scotland. My son who is old for his year was 5.5 when he went into P1, and 12.5 when he started secondary.

I do think the Scottish way is better, the child is at least 4.5 when they start school, P1

The Daily Fail once claimed that radio presenter James Naughtie went to "the selective Keith Grammar." They obviously did no research whatsoever (quelle surprise!) and just assumed that a school with "Grammar" in its name couldn't be a normal state comprehensive.

When I was a kid. Leicester schools all broke up early and went back at the same time as Scotland.

Would someone be good enough to write down the English/Welsh system with ages. I always gets confused as to the age of children when they are described as being in YrX

I would appreciate this too, I cant get my head around "my son in Y11 smokes" and I'm like he's smoking at 11???

although it would be smoking here on MN, its more shock a kid of 15 plays COD or something...

Re the names thing there are about 2 secondary state schools in Scotland which are just a plain "school" Everything else is an academy or a high school.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_state_schools_in_Scotland_%28city_council_areas%29?wprov=sfla1

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_state_schools_in_Scotland_%28council_areas_excluding_cities%2C_A%E2%80%93D%29?wprov=sfla1

Never understood the English school system, nor the fact that they dont finish school for summer-they seem to run into autumn?

I do like the tatty holidays tho-it means we can book a Haven holiday in England and its not crazy busy because the English kids are still at school!
But yes, its a feckin nip in the heid!!

wouldn't that is ^^

Would someone be good enough to write down the English/Welsh system with ages. I always gets confused as to the age of children when they are described as being in YrX

I would appreciate this too, I cant get my head around "my son in Y11 smokes" and I'm like he's smoking at 11???

Or just say the age? If it confuses us in another part of the UK it is presumably just as , or more, confusing for non UK posters?

I think p1 sounds far more formal than reception which is play based. So we tend to start more formal learning in year 1 (at roughly 6 months later than Scottish schools start formal school.)

So in England you start yrr at 4( could have just turned 4 or be 5 the next day)

Yr1 5
Yr2 6
Yr3 7
Yr4 8
Yr5 9
Yr6 10
Yr7 11 (often start of secondary school)
Yr8 12
Yr9 13
Yr10 14
Yr11 15 (gcse year so finish at 16 and could leave school)
Yr12 16 (As level)
Yr13 17 (A level - finish at 18)

Y11 would be 15/16 year olds.

Year 7 = 11/12
Year 8 = 12/13
Year 9 = 13/14
Year 10 = 14/15
Year 11 = 15/16

Mov1ngOn has been more thorough!

so its just really Yx plus add 4?

Yup. Quite simple as in however they divide the schools in the area (infant/ junior/ primary) the years are simply reception and then formal learning is just yr1-yr12.

It didn't used to be when I was a kid as each area had its own rules.

I'm English, but have been in Scotland for 3 years. I love the fact we were able to hold DD2 back a year as she would have been one of the youngest in the year.

I also think that the Scottish 4 year degree is better than the 3 year degree. Students spend the first 2 years doing 2-3 different subjects1 of these will be their degree subject (or 2 if joint degree). It is relatively simple for them to change their degree during this timeit offers much more flexibility and they have the chance to try subjects they've never done before. Just some of the subjects my students can choose alongside history--languages, psychology, maths, politics, philosophy, English, film studies, geography, economics.....

It's a bit of a tangent, but as a univeristy lecturer, if I get another person say how I must be enjoying the long summer holiday, I will ram my research down their throat scream. The summer is crazy busy as everyone tries to get the research done that was impossible to do during the semester.

Typo--I've been in Scotland 13 years!

I like the idea of a broader first year at uni rather than specialising early as we do in England. I remember applying for Scottish unis and being told I'd go straight into their second year which I decided I didn't want either!