Junior schoolA junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at an infant school, which covers the age range 5–7. Since both infant and junior schools provide primary education, pupils are commonly placed in a unified building – a primary school. In Australia, a junior school is usually a part of a private school that educates children between the ages of 2 and 5.
Comprehensive schoolA comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis of selection criteria, usually academic performance. The term is commonly used in relation to England and Wales, where comprehensive schools were introduced as state schools on an experimental basis in the 1940s and became more widespread from 1965.
Three-tier educationThree-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types as they progress through the education system. In a three-tier local education authority children begin their compulsory education in a first school or lower school, which caters for children up to the age of 8 or 9. Children then transfer to a middle school, which caters for children from age 9 to age 13 or 14.
Gymnasium (school)Gymnasium (and variations of the word) is a term in various European languages for a secondary school that prepares students for higher education at a university. It is comparable to the US English term preparatory high school. Before the 20th century, the gymnasium system was a widespread feature of educational systems throughout many European countries. The word γυμνάσιον (gumnásion), from Greek γυμνός (gumnós) 'naked' or 'nude', was first used in Ancient Greece, in the sense of a place for both physical and intellectual education of young men.
Compulsory educationCompulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or at other places. Compulsory school attendance or compulsory schooling means that parents are obliged to send their children to a certain school. All countries except Bhutan, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vatican City have compulsory education. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, most schools in the United States did not mandate regular attendance.
Secondary schoolA secondary school or a high school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both lower secondary education (ages 11 to 14) and upper secondary education (ages 14 to 18), i.e., both levels 2 and 3 of the ISCED scale, but these can also be provided in separate schools. In the US, most local secondary education systems have separate middle schools and high schools.
Key Stage 2Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years. The term is defined in the Education Act 2002 as the period beginning at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in a class attain the age of eight and ending at the same time as the school year in which the majority of pupils in a class attain the age of eleven.
Infant schoolAn infant school is a term used primarily in England and Wales, for the education of children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular area. It is sometimes a department in a larger primary school educating children up to the age of approximately eleven years old. An infant school forms part of local education provision giving primary education. In England and Wales, children start at infant school between the ages of four and five in a Reception class.
Ninth gradeNinth grade (also 9th Grade or Grade 9) is the ninth or tenth year of formal or compulsory education in some countries. It is generally part of middle school or secondary school depending on country. Students in ninth grade are usually 14–15 years old, but in some countries are 15–16. Education in Afghanistan In Afghanistan, ninth grade is the third year of secondary school, which starts in seventh grade. Under the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan, education up to ninth grade (about age 15) was compulsory.
Raising of school leaving ageThe raising of school leaving age (ROSLA) is an act brought into force when the legal age a child is allowed to leave compulsory education increases. In most countries, the school leaving age reflects when young people are seen to be mature enough within their society, but not necessarily when they are old enough to be regarded as an adult. There are several reasons why a government may wish to raise the school leaving age. It may be due to a lack of skilled labour in the country, or it may simply be a way of reducing a country's unemployment figures.
