To be shocked deferring by a year has become this common?

[Killiam]

My DS is 4, his birthday is august 28th, he started school this year.
Today I went to a session at his school where parents were invited in to see what they have been doing etc.
After I was talking to some parents and they noted more than once how tiny he is, I said ah well he has just turned 4 so makes sense. This is when I learned of his class of 24 kids, 4 of them should have started the year before 1 June birthday, 2 July and 1 August. The next closest in age to my son is a June baby so no other July or August babies born his year at all!
DS seems to be doing well but when I asked the other summer parents why they decided to defer they basically all said they just felt their kids needed more time, nothing the separates them from DS.
DS does cry most days going in and couldn't write his name or anything before starting.
The school is in central London and is very diverse but lots of Eastern European and Asian parents and Ive learn that in most of those countries 6 or even 7 is a more common. starting age so I wonder if that plays a role?

AIBU to be shocked it is so common to defer now? Starting to wonder if I made the right choice!

I've noticed a few children arrive in schools recently (from overseas) who I believe are older than they claim they are.

I wonder if some parents are finding ways to make sure their child is, effectively, deferred.

NW England, lower working class-middle class area:
My son is now finishing primary, but there are several June-Aug kids in his class alone, and I recall the topic of deferring being treated as unusual or unnecessary.
I can only think of one classmate who may have suited being deferred, as (apart from height) you wouldn't be able to tell the eldest and youngest apart in terms of ability at school.
I also wonder if these being pandemic babies has anything to do with it... Raised differently, at home with family a lot more, etc.

PS. Mine would have qualified for deferment, and as a first time parent I considered it but due to previous mentioned ‘views’ of people and community around me I didn’t. Obv I also didn’t worry he’d be the only young one because of this. He’s doing well but I do wonder what it would have been like had I let him wait. More in terms of physicality, and not being the last out of friends to do things later in life, like drive or drink! I don’t consider these of utmost importance, however, so I don’t actually regret our choice.

If they are from countries that do dates the American way that could work in their favour. An 8th January baby wouldn't qualify for referral but a 1st August one would.

I'm glad you used to work in school admissions as your information is rather outdated!

Parents are probably deciding what is best for their child, and some are probably deciding that 4 is too young to start school. They are maybe thinking another year at nursery in a play based learning environment is best for their child. The youngest you can start school in Scotland is 4.5 years. My eldest was 5 in the April and started school in the August. My second because they were born in February and fell into 4.5 Years so they could have gone to school in the August, but I kept him back till he was 5.5, to me 4.5 is far too young to start school.