UK Years vs US Grades: What Grade Will My Child Be In?
In most cases a child’s US grade is their English Year group minus one. Year 1 in England is kindergarten in the US, Year 7 is grade 6, and Year 13 is grade 12. The exceptions are children whose birthdays fall near a cut-off date, because England groups children by age on August 31 while US states and other countries use their own dates. That’s where families moving in either direction most often get a surprise. Reviewed by Sarah Teasdale, Global Team Lead, UK, and Erin Brady, Director of Private Client Services, at Bennett International.
England and Wales Years and US grades
| England and Wales | Age during the year | US grade | Usual US stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reception | 4 to 5 | Pre-K | Preschool |
| Year 1 | 5 to 6 | Kindergarten | Elementary |
| Year 2 | 6 to 7 | Grade 1 | Elementary |
| Year 3 | 7 to 8 | Grade 2 | Elementary |
| Year 4 | 8 to 9 | Grade 3 | Elementary |
| Year 5 | 9 to 10 | Grade 4 | Elementary |
| Year 6 | 10 to 11 | Grade 5 | Elementary |
| Year 7 | 11 to 12 | Grade 6 | Middle school |
| Year 8 | 12 to 13 | Grade 7 | Middle school |
| Year 9 | 13 to 14 | Grade 8 | Middle school |
| Year 10 | 14 to 15 | Grade 9 | High school (freshman) |
| Year 11 | 15 to 16 | Grade 10 | High school (sophomore) |
| Year 12 | 16 to 17 | Grade 11 | High school (junior) |
| Year 13 | 17 to 18 | Grade 12 | High school (senior) |
Where middle school begins varies by district: some start at grade 5 or 7, and some schools run straight from kindergarten to grade 8.
Why birthdays matter
In England a child’s Year group is set by their age on August 31. A child starts Reception full-time in the September after their fourth birthday, and must be in school from the term after their fifth. In September 2027, Reception will hold children born between September 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023.
In the US, kindergarten starts at five, but each state, and in a few states each district, sets the date a child must turn five by. The most common date is September 1, used by 20 states, which lines up almost exactly with England. Others range from June 30 in West Virginia to December 31 in New York City, where children start kindergarten in the calendar year they turn five. A child born in October 2021 is in Reception in England in 2026-27, but starts kindergarten in New York City that same September, a year ahead.
Parents of summer-born children in England (born April to August) can ask for their child to start Reception at five instead of joining Year 1. The school or council decides case by case, and the request has to be made again when the child moves school, including on arrival from abroad.
Elsewhere in the UK the dates differ again. In Scotland, children start P1 between about four and a half and five and a half, so the year group runs roughly March to February, and the school year begins in mid-August. In Northern Ireland, a child starts P1 in September if they’re four by July 1.
Other destinations at a glance
| Country | School year starts | First year of school | Year names |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | August or September | Kindergarten at 5, by a state or district date (most often September 1) | Kindergarten, grades 1 to 12 |
| Canada (Ontario) | September | Junior kindergarten at 4 and senior kindergarten at 5, by December 31 | JK, SK, grades 1 to 12 |
| Mexico | Late August | Primaria at 6, by December 31 | Preescolar 1 to 3, primaria 1 to 6, secundaria 1 to 3 |
| Ireland | Late August or September | Junior infants from age 4; school compulsory at 6 | Junior and senior infants, 1st to 6th class, then 1st to 6th year |
| UAE (August or September calendar) | August or September | From 2026-27, ages by December 31: KG1 (FS2) at 4, KG2 (Year 1) at 5, Grade 1 (Year 2) at 6 | KG or FS, then grades or Years |
| Singapore (local schools) | January | Primary 1 in the year the child turns 7 | P1 to P6 |
| Hong Kong (local schools) | September | Primary 1 at 5 years 8 months; for September 2027, born on or before December 31, 2021 | K1 to K3, P1 to P6, S1 to S6 |
| Japan | April | Elementary school in the April after a child’s sixth birthday | Grades 1 to 6, then junior high 1 to 3 |
| Australia | Late January | New South Wales: Kindergarten if 5 by July 31. Victoria: Foundation if 5 by April 30. Queensland: Prep if 5 by June 30 | Kindergarten, Foundation or Prep, then Years 1 to 12 |
| Spain | September | Primaria in the calendar year the child turns 6 | Infantil, primaria 1 to 6, ESO 1 to 4, bachillerato 1 to 2 |
| France | September | CP in the calendar year the child turns 6; school compulsory from 3 | Maternelle, CP to CM2, collège, lycée |
| Germany | August or September | Age 6 by a date each state sets, between June 30 and September 30 | Klasse 1 to 12 or 13 |
| Netherlands | Late August or September | From age 4; compulsory from 5 | Groep 1 to 8 |
The UAE change is recent and easy to miss. From 2026-27, schools on an August or September calendar use December 31 for new entrants instead of August 31; schools that start in April keep March 31. A child born between September and December, moving from England, can now be placed a year higher in Dubai than at home.
International schools set their own rules
Most international schools follow either their home system’s date (often August 31 or September 1) or the host country’s rule. Some British-curriculum schools in Hong Kong, for example, place children by calendar year of birth. Always ask each school for its age-placement chart, and from about Grade 2 onward, expect placement to follow the last year a child completed as well as their age.
Before you move
- Check the cut-off for the exact district or school, not just the country or state.
- Ask how the school places children who arrive mid-year or from a different calendar.
- Keep the last two years of reports; schools use them to decide placement.
- If a birthday sits near a cut-off, compare both year groups with the school before you accept a place.
How a Bennett consultant helps
A Bennett consultant does this comparison as part of every move: the exact cut-off where you are going, how each school on your shortlist places children arriving from another system, and which year group gives your child the best start.
For the US side in more detail, see kindergarten cut-off dates for every state and our guide to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Moving from the UK? Start with how American schools compare. Heading the other way, read how the school system in England is structured. Bound for Australia, starting school in Sydney explains its 31 July cut-off. We also have local guides for New York and Dallas, and more for families on the move.
Sarah Teasdale is a Global Team Lead and Senior Education Consultant at Bennett International, based in England, supporting the England-based consultants who work with families throughout the UK. Trained as a teacher, she taught in state and independent schools in England and abroad in Ireland and Bahrain, set up a supply-teaching agency for international schools in Nairobi, and was an education advisor with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the United Nations in Kenya. She later helped develop a new curriculum for government schools in the UAE. Back in England, she set up an in-house education consultancy for a leading relocation company before founding Educatus, Bennett’s UK partner.
Erin Brady is Director of Private Client Services and a Global Team Lead at Bennett International, overseeing consultants who work with families relocating to Greater New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Phoenix and Toronto. She began consulting with Bennett in 2006, focusing on US boarding school and New York City placements from Pre-K through grade 12. Before her career in education consulting, Erin worked in Lower, Middle and Upper School admissions, taught middle school English, coached varsity cross country and track, and served as an academic advisor at day and boarding schools in the US and the UK. She has lived in England and Ireland and holds a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from Penn State University.
Bennett International Education Consultancy works directly with hundreds of families each year across the globe. We support families by helping them make informed decisions about the best-fit schools for their children; with our guidance, they secure placement in preschools, private day schools, public/state schools, boarding schools, colleges and universities, including schools with particular programs, such as special needs support.
