Primary and secondary schools categorise age groups by key stages. The purpose of key stages is to separate educational stages of the curriculum and to adapt learning materials such as books or activities to the appropriate age. These are as follows.

  • Key stage 1 – children aged 4 to 7
  • Key stage 2 – children aged 7 to 11
  • Key stage 3 – children aged 11 to 14
  • Key stage 4 – children aged 14 to 16

Primary education (UK)

Children entering the UK’s education system for the first time are welcomed at any stage although they will usually be expected to start school at the beginning of a school year or term for a smoother transition stage.

Primary school is the first stage of education where children in the UK are required to attend. During primary school, children will begin to learn basic skills such as learning to read and write and simple numeracy. In the first few years, children are still allowed a fair part of the day to play, draw and do arts and crafts. Classes can typically be between 25 to 30 students per class and each class will be assigned one teacher who they will spend all their schooling time with. Some classes, namely the larger sized ones, may have teaching assistants who assist children with learning difficulties or who may learn at a slower pace.

Once children have become accustomed to being in an educational environment and have acquired the skills to read and write, they will be following a more advanced curriculum.

The learning areas are broad and include subjects, such as:

  • English reading, spelling, grammar, and writing
  • Numeracy and mathematics
  • Science
  • Art and design
  • Computing
  • Design and technology
  • Geography
  • History
  • Music
  • Physical Education (PE)
  • Foreign languages (only from KS2)

Also, pupils will sit the End of Key Stage Tests and Assessments (SATs) twice during their primary education. SATs are standardized tests to assess a child’s learning progress. The first assessment is at the end of Year 2 (KS1) and the second in Year 6 (KS2). Age-wise, this roughly equates to around seven and eleven.