If you're homeschooling then you may use a mixture of textbooks from different countries and perhaps English and French textbooks too and it can take a while to understand all the different levels that are being referred to. In France, the UK and many other countries there's no requirement to follow the national curriculum, however it helps to have some idea what everyone else is referring to. This page therefore gives the common grades in France, the USA and the UK, as it's useful to understand the school system in all 3 countries in order to be able to select appropriate books.
We've also put a guide to grades for learning languages and how this correlates with the UK education system.
A couple of points that it took us a while to figure out about the French education system:
- Collège is the French word for Secondary School (ages 11 - 15), so has a different meaning in French.
- When the French talk about 11ème, they're referring to a scale that goes backwards, so 11ème is for 6-7 year olds and 1e is for 16 - 17 year olds.
Key Stages in the UK
The key stages in the UK are as follows:
| Key Stage | Ages | School Years [Y] |
Forms |
| KS0 | 3-5 | 0 | Nursery / Reception (Early Years Foundation Stage) |
| KS1 | 5-7 | 1-2 | 1st-2nd form infants |
| KS2 | 7-11 | 3-6 | 1st-4th form juniors |
| KS3 | 11-14 | 7-9 | 1st-3rd form secondary |
| KS4 | 14-16 | 10-11 | 4th-5th form secondary Exams - GCSEs |
| KS5 | 16-18 | 12-13 | Sixth form, secondary, also FE college Exams - A-Levels, AS-Levels, National Diplomas |
Grades in France
The following grade system / abbreviations apply in France
| Maternelle (Kindergarten) | ||
| Age | Grade | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| 3 -> 4 | Petite section | PS |
| 4 -> 5 | Moyenne section | MS |
| 5 -> 6 | Grande section | GS |
| École élémentaire (Primary school) | ||
| Age | Grade | Abbreviation |
| 6 -> 7 | Cours préparatoire | CP / 11ème |
| 7 -> 8 | Cours élémentaire première année | CE1 / 10ème |
| 8 -> 9 | Cours élémentaire deuxième année | CE2 / 9ème |
| 9 -> 10 | Cours moyen première année | CM1 / 8ème |
| 10 -> 11 | Cours moyen deuxième année | CM2 / 7ème |
| Collège (Secondary School) | ||
| Age | Grade | Abbreviation |
| 11 -> 12 | Sixième | 6e |
| 12 -> 13 | Cinquième | 5e |
| 13 -> 14 | Quatrième | 4e |
| 14 -> 15 | Troisième | 3e |
| Lycée (High school or College in English) | ||
| Age | Grade | Abbreviation |
| 15 -> 16 | Seconde | 2de |
| 16 -> 17 | Première | 1e |
| 17 -> 18 | Terminale | Term or Tle |
Grades in the USA
| Elementary school | |
| Preschool | 3-4 |
| Pre-kindergarten | 4-5 |
| Kindergarten | 5-6 |
| 1st Grade | 6-7 |
| 2nd Grade | 7-8 |
| 3rd Grade | 8-9 |
| 4th Grade | 9-10 |
| 5th Grade | 10-11 |
| Middle school | |
| 6th Grade | 11-12 |
| 7th Grade | 12-13 |
| 8th Grade | 13-14 |
| High school | |
| 9th Grade (Freshman) | 14-15 |
| 10th Grade (Sophomore) | 15-16 |
| 11th Grade (Junior) | 16-17 |
| 12th Grade (Senior) | 17-18 |
It's perfectly normal for home educated children to be ahead in some subjects (or aspects of the same subject) and behind in other subjects, the above is meant as a guide only to help you understand the American or British English and French grade / key stage systems.
Grades for Learning Languages
The Common European Framework for Languages (CEFR) divides people into three broad divisions, that can then be divided into A and B, as follows:
| CEFR Division | CEFR Sub-Division | Approx. Equivalent English Qualitification |
| A - Basic User | A1 - Beginner | Foundation tier GCSE |
| A - Basic User | A2 - Elementary | Higher tier GCSE |
| B - Independent User | B1 - Intermediate | GCE AS level / lower grade A-level |
| B - Independent User | B2 - Upper Intermediate | Higher grade A-level |
| C - Proficient user | C1 - Advanced | Cambridge Exam: CPE (45 to 59) / CAE grade B or C / FCE grade A |
| C - Proficient user | C2 - Mastery | Cambridge Exam: CPE grade A, B or C / CAE grade A |
It takes between about 75 hours and 200 hours of study to move from one grade to the next (A1 to A2, A2 to B1, etc.)