Can someone explain the UK school system to me?

[auzziemummy]

From Australia and my DC are a few years off school yet (twin 14months and a baby due in June). We are planning to be in the UK for now but with the aim to be back in Australia for the twins starting high school (age 12-13). I understand it's probably very similar if not the same. What age do they start primary here and when do you apply for places? All very confusing and would be grateful if someone could just tell me what all the school years are called here!

Preschool (optional) from 3 years
reception at 4-5
then primary school for years 1-6 ((age 6-11)
secondary school begins at 11/12
the cutoff for each year is September for the child’s birthday , so your child’s birthday dictates whether they’ll be 4/5 when they begin reception.
the easiest way to get a school place is to make sure your child is registered as living in the area and you’ll get a notification asking you to apply.
in my humble opinion, the easiest way to transition kids into school smoothly is to pick a school you like and try to get them into the nursery or preschool there.
you will need to check the local authority / council website in the area you live to see what the criteria are.

Primary starts from 4years old and term begins in September, so if your child is 4 in the September that'll be their first year which is called Reception.

Primary school is considered;

• early years (Reception class)
• Key stage 1 = Years 1 & 2
• Key stage 3 = Years 3 - 6

Secondary school begins Year 7 (usually when child is 11) and runs to Year 11.

https://www.gov.uk/schools-admissions

School years: nursery, reception, year 1-6. That takes you up to age 11. Also the names vary between areas of UK.

Hi OP!

So your 14mo olds will start school the September after they turn 4 (in the previous November) - so by my calculations they were born in Nov 2022 and so will start school Sept 2027? When they are rising five.

You will need to apply for a place in reception which is also known as foundation stage 2 (FS1 is the nursery year that can precede it but is not compulsory - tho I would advise it if possible.). The application will be made in the school year before they start - applications open in (I think) October and deadline is end of January, so this will be Oct 2026-Jan 2027.

Reception is followed by year 1 then year 2, and so on until year 6 - final year of primary or junior school.

You can start to think about primary places now of course - many children attend their closest primary or infant school (primary is 4-11, infant is 4-7, followed by a separate junior school). You will get the chance to express a preference on the application form, anything from 3 to 6 options depending on your local authority.

It's a good idea when it comes around to applying to include one "banker" - a school you are sure to get into (usually your nearest) as the "preference" is just that, not a guarantee. LA has to offer a school place, but if there is no space at any of the schools on your list, they offer a place at a school with spaces - usually a less popular one, hence the advice to put a banker on the list.

IME tbh the vast majority of primary and infant schools are pleasant places where chldren do well, especially if they have supportive parents.

be aware btw that if you are still in UK (btw I am assuimg England - system is different in Scotland and Wales) when your twins turn 11, you will need to have applied for a secondary school place by the end of the October immediately before that (ie when they are 10 and in year 6) to start the September following, at age 11.

You might want to check birth dates and school tears in both UK and your state in Oz.

Because if the slight differences in academic years (jan-dec,vs sept-july) and the birth date cut offs varying, one of mine would have been potentially 2years ' ahead' in their school grade in the UK compared to Oz for a term; so could have been second year secondary here and last year primary in oz. which would have been tricky to deal with. It would be worth being aware of any oddities like that so you can time your move with least social and educational disruption

The school year starts here 1 September so eg the current school year started 1 September 2023 and all children who were aged 4 between 1 September 2022 and 31 august 2023 were eligible to enrol in reception sometimes called f2.

Some parents with summer born children who will only just turn 4 on 1 September decide to defer entry to school until the following year so instead of being the youngest in the class they are the eldest.

Then after reception it is years 1-13
The last year at primary school is year 6.

Secondary school begins at year 7.
Some secondary schools end at year 11 when children do GCSEs and children go onto a FE college for tertiary education either A levels or something vocational . Other schools continue to year 13 . Years 12 and 13 are sometimes called sixth form

Scotland has it's on system and is different to the rest of the UK.
England and Wales has almost identical systems.
Northern Ireland does the same exams as England and Wales but does have a slightly different starting age.
So.....do you have a plan to be in England, Scotland, NI or Wales.
Because that's important.
Edit : also some parts of England have a different 3 tier system including a middle school. The starting age will be the same but the moving on to the next stage will be different ages to most of England.

There isn't a UK school system so it depends where you are planning to move to within the UK.