School Ages

Hi Everyone,

I have 2 children moving with me to London in July.  I am wondering if you could help me figure out their year in school.  My son in 6.  He will be 7 November 20th.  I figure like in the US he will be in Year 1.  My daughter is 4.  She will be 5 October 28th.  She would be in K1 in the US or Young Fives.  I was reading about UK schools and saw that reception is all day.  I don't think she would do well in all day as she is in preschool this year 3 days a week for 3 hours.  Any info/advice here would be appreciated!  TIA

I can't answer your question about school ages as I could never keep it straight and I'm back in the US now... but FWIW, I was under the impression most US kindergartens are full day now? They certainly are in my area. My son is starting preK this fall and he will likely do that full days as well. I think that's just the trend now. I know a lot of parents say the first few weeks are tough to adjust to and you'll find your child may want to sleep in the late afternoon which can disrupt their night time routine. But I'm not sure you'll have a choice... if I'm not mistaken, your child MUST attend school and Reception is a full day. :-/

Hi Everyone,

I have 2 children moving with me to London in July.  I am wondering if you could help me figure out their year in school.  My son in 6.  He will be 7 November 20th.  I figure like in the US he will be in Year 1.  My daughter is 4.  She will be 5 October 28th.  She would be in K1 in the US or Young Fives.  I was reading about UK schools and saw that reception is all day.  I don't think she would do well in all day as she is in preschool this year 3 days a week for 3 hours.  Any info/advice here would be appreciated!  TIA

The school years for UK primary schools are as follows:

Reception: age 4-5
Year 1: age 5-6
Year 2: age 6-7
Year 3: age 7-8
Year 4: age 8-9
Year 5: age 9-10
Year 6: age 10-11

Your daughter will be in Reception class as she will be turning 5 during the coming academic year and your son will be in Year 2 as he will be turning 7 during the coming academic year.

Not all Reception classes start off as all day (actually, I didn't think any of them did, but maybe it's changed)... usually what happens (as far as I know) is that the children start off doing just mornings, then just afternoons, and they build up to all day over the first few weeks of the school year.

A friend of mine's daughter started reception this year and they started off part day and worked their way into full days over 2-3 weeks.

For the OP, this wiki article is pretty good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_England

Scottish schools are different, but you're in London,so that's not an issue. 

A friend of mine's daughter started reception this year and they started off part day and worked their way into full days over 2-3 weeks.

My friend's daughter starts P1 this year and she said they started off part day for entire semester and then they go full day the next semester. 
Interesting all the differences...  

For the OP, this wiki article is pretty good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_England

Scottish schools are different, but you're in London,so that's not an issue. 

My friend's daughter starts P1 this year and she said they started off part day for entire semester and then they go full day the next semester. 
Interesting all the differences...  

It is interesting the differences in the education systems... my OU course has us looking at mainly our own curriculum (Early Years Foundation Stage) but also Early Years standards and practice from all the countries of the UK.  Quite good to see how similar they are.

Yes, in our area for reception they gradually get the children used to being on full time. Like you I was worried about my little ones adjusting to it, but they honestly were having such a great time it was harder on me letting them go than it was for them! So we both came to terms with it at the same time, they just adjusted better than I did. The schools here are fantastic with the children and with reassuring parents too. 

Wow!  Thanks for all the info.  Where we live in Michigan Kindergarten is still half day.  I am relieved to hear about easing into reception, but having a panic attack about my son going into year 2.  He has a late fall birthday and I wanted him to have extra time so I put him in DK some call Early Fives and then into Kindergarten this year.  I am worried he won't have what they want from him for a year 2. 

I'm sure that your children will be fine.  The cut off date is August 31st, so both of your children will be amongst the older children for their year. 
One word of caution though....good schools are often oversubscribed.  Even if you move into the catchment area you may not get a place and may be offered a place in a nearby school. 
We are in England and are in the process of moving about 20 minutes away from where we currently live.  The school that is closest to our new home is oversubscribed-as a result, I will be keeping our daughters in their present village primary school until there is a place for them. 
Wishing you luck!

Thanks Red5  I can't believe how incredibly nervous and anxious I am about my going to school.  They are in preschool and kindergarten now.  Neither is in school all day, and now both will be.  We are not moving until July when I hear most schools are closed so next week when we go to London we have to find a flat that will allow a dog, register for school (hopefully), plan our move, set up a bank account and utilities, get my husbands work paperwork all set.  Ahh, the anxiety.  I guess you all have been through it, and now it's my turn.  I just can't fathom how my kids are going to adjust to a huge move and going to school all day when my preschooler went through a long stretch of separation anxiety and cried every day going to school for months.  And, my kindergartener who is as anxious a person as I am.  Oh man.  Thanks everyone for the info and support.  I really appreciate it as I have a mini nervous breakdown right now. :]

Currently in my children's school where I volunteer there is a 6 year old little boy who has anxiety issues. Every day without fail, he would cling onto his mother and start crying. The school asked the mother to stay for the day to help calm any fear or issues the little boy would have and slowly decreased the time each day. The mother would tell the child she would be back in a few minutes and would come get him after she had a cup of coffee or something like that just to reassure the child she was coming back for him. And the teacher would distract the child and get his attention so he didn't always look for his mother and over a two week process this went on until the little boy no longer requires his mother in the classroom.

I'm just telling you this to reassure you with the schools over here in my experience are sensitive to children and their parents as well. So they will work with you on any issues your little ones might have in school. 

Thank you so much Little Evo.  I really appreciate the information.  This is exactly the kind of situation I was hoping will be encouraged if either of my little ones need it.  Thanks.  I really needed that!

Also, the school may work closely with you about your concerns.  When my daughter started reception, she was also doing quite a lot of speech therapy and would be very tired doing a full day.  The head was more than happy for me to have her there half day for several months.... in the end, my daughter begged us to let her stay like everyone else for the full day and did fine.

I am so nervous about all this school stuff.  My new worry is about my six year old.  He is kindergarten this year, but will be in year 2 in the UK next year.  From what I understand Nursery is like preschool - Reception is like kindergarten - Does this mean year 1 is like 1st grade year 2 like 2nd grade etc...?  I don't know what to think.  As we get closer to our move date I begin to panic more often, but new school is making my kids anxious so I really need to understand to help soothe them.  Thanks everyone for all the information and support.  It really helps. 

I am so nervous about all this school stuff.  My new worry is about my six year old.  He is kindergarten this year, but will be in year 2 in the UK next year.  From what I understand Nursery is like preschool - Reception is like kindergarten - Does this mean year 1 is like 1st grade year 2 like 2nd grade etc...?  I don't know what to think.  As we get closer to our move date I begin to panic more often, but new school is making my kids anxious so I really need to understand to help soothe them.  Thanks everyone for all the information and support.  It really helps. 

Year 2 in the UK is approximately equivalent to 1st grade in the US, so I don't think you need to worry . It just gets confusing because the UK system goes up to Year 13 and the US system goes up to 12th grade, but students finish Year 13 and 12th grade at the same age (18)...so in general, the equivalent US grade is one below the UK year number (i.e. Year 10 in the UK is approx. equivalent to 9th grade in the US).

A basic rundown of the years for primary school in terms of ages:

Age	UK	US
3-4	Nursery	Pre-School
4-5	Reception	Pre-K
5-6	Year 1	Kindergarten
6-7	Year 2	1st grade
7-8	Year 3	2nd grade
8-9	Year 4	3rd grade
9-10	Year 5	4th grade
10-11	Year 6	5th grade

You can have a look at the National Curriculum subjects for Key Stage 1 (Reception to Year 2) here so you can see what kind of topics are covered at school: http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-1-and-2/subjects/index.aspx