Which school year group is my child in?
For parents who are unfamiliar with the Scottish education system, it may not be clear which year group your child will be in when they move to a school north of the Border.
Children in Scotland generally start school between the ages of four-and-a-half and five-and-a-half. When they are eligible to start school depends on the date of their fifth birthday.
If this is on or between September 1 and the last day in February, your child will start school at the beginning of the autumn term, which is in mid-August, in the year before they turn five.
If your child’s birthday is on or between 1 March and 31 August, your child will usually start school at the beginning of the autumn term, in August, in the year they turn five.
If your child is still four on the date they are due to start primary school, you can defer their entry by a year.
In Scotland, children can leave school at 16. If your child’s birthday falls within or between March and September, they can leave in May of that year. If their birthday is between October and February, they can leave at the start of the winter break.
The birth date and year group tracker (below) will help you identify which primary or secondary class your child should be in.
For example, children born between 1 March, 2014 and 28 February, 2015, should have started primary school in August 2019.
Children born between 1 March, 2007, and 28 February 29, 2008, should have started secondary school in August 2019.