Question for British list members (school years)

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol"  wrote:

> Carol, noting that in the U.S., fifth grade (which I assume
> corresponds with Year 5) is comprised mostly of ten- and
> eleven-year-olds (they'd be ten at the beginning of the year
> but most will have turned eleven by this point in the school
> year)
>  

In my old mind, students were 5 in kindergarten, 6 in first grade, 7
in second grade, 8 in third grade (and were so impressively big and
grown-up when I was in kindergarten!}, 9 in fourth grade, 10 in fifth
grade, 11 in sixth grade, 12 in seventh grade, 13 in eighth grade, 14
in ninth grade, 15 in tenth grade, 16 in eleventh grade, 17 in twelfth
grade. By 'in', I mean they turned that age by a stated date in that
grade, such as September 30 or October 15 -- thank God/dess my mother
managed to start me in a school district where the cut-off date was
November 30!

This is clearly not the case nowadays, when news reports are always
full of 18 and 19 year old high school students who are old enough to
vote, enlist in the military, and sign contracts without parental
consent. Do you know when it changed, or is my memory just wrong?

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" wrote:

> Year 7 corresponds to the old First Year which is for children who 
> reached 11 in the currency of the previous school year.

"In the currency" of --- in the money of?

I don't remember which Marion Zimmer Bradley "Darkover" book it was,
nor the character's name, nor why she was packing to run away from
home, but I've never forgotten mention a copper necklace "which would
pass current anywhere this side of the mountains". She must have
meant, be accepted as money, because its electrical conductivity would
not be affected by those mountains.
> 
> For example, pupils entering the current Year 7 in September 2007 
> would have reached the age of 11 between 01/09/06 and 31/08/07.
> So children who entered Year 5 in September 2007 would have reached 
> the age of nine in this period.

My old idea (above) is that children would be 12 (or almost 12,
because of the later cut-off date), not 11, when starting 7th grade,
and would be 10 when entering fifth grade. One year older than your
same name grades/forms. Like Carol said. I wonder the cause of this US
- UK discrepancy. Do you call kindergarten Year 1?
> 
> For cross-reference, the UK exam year when pupils take GCSE exams 
> and reach the age of 16 in that year is Year 11 (the old Fifth 
> Year).
> 
> The all-through class numbering system became generally used in the 
> UK round about 1989/90.
>