The things kids say

[Laura]

Yep, that's all correct. Only my school makes it even more complicated by having a Pre-school instead of a nursery, Pre-prep 1, 2 and 3 instead of reception, Year 1 and Year 2, and Prep 1, 2, 3 and 4, instead of years 3, 4, 5, and 6. No-one from outside has any idea what's going on with any of them, or how old they are.

[Bunnylump]

See, Scurra? It's all a piece of cake and perfectly understandable.

[Scurra]

Well now I know why you're all puzzle solvers. You'd have to be, really...

[giraffe]

I still have to translate it in my head to work out what year my children are in.

And how do you get year 14? Year 12 and 13 are upper and lower 6th, so where does year 14 happen?

My infant/ junior school was weird with class names.

Rabbits....Nursery
Moles....Reception ....1st year infants
Peter Pan...Year 1
Toad Hall ....Year 2
Wonderland ....Year3....1st year juniors
Lower 3....Year 4
Lower 2...Year 5
Lower 1.....Year 6....4th year juniors

The seniors used the normal sytem.

[LAT]

..and at my son's senior school, which he started at age 13 (year 9?) he went into the fourth form (the youngest year group at the school). Then was remove followed by the fifth form. Then, when he was doing A levels, ie what most schools call lower and upper sixth, at his school they were called first year specialists and second year specialists. This was generally shortened to first years and second years. So he went through Fourths, Removes, Fifths, First years, Second years.

[Scurra]

The seniors used the normal system.

It appears that there is no such thing as the "normal" system!

[Bunnylump]

Year 14 is for the ones who don't quite get their heads round the idea of having to work first time round in the lower 6th (year 12) and end up retaking a year, or the ones who do BTEC between GCSE and AS levels. It's all horribly complicated. There are also pupils who go to college from year 10 onwards, but only part time - they come to school to drive us mad in things like single science, English and Maths (and bizarrely, RE) and spend the rest of their time doing things like car mechanics, bricklaying, forces training, looking after animals, cookery, hairdressing, taking drugs and getting pregnant.

[Scurra]

As opposed to the nice middle-class kids who don't do anything like that (English, Maths and RE, I mean. )

[Bunnylump]

Well I was a nice middle class kid. So what can I tell you? (Although I did manage to avoid pregnancy thank goodness. Sadly I didn't manage to avoid RE).

[LAT]

Well I was a nice middle class kid. So what can I tell you? (Although I did manage to avoid pregnancy thank goodness. Sadly I didn't manage to avoid RE).

And how therefore do you explain your daughter and son? Gooseberry bush?

[Scurra]

Obviously it was storks.

See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyhKyGDPAMo

[MBH]

WAY too confusing I'm off to look at the top two lines of the Periodic Table

[evilkeen]

It appears that there is no such thing as the "normal" system!

Certainly not in the independent sector - every school I have taught in has been different!

[SparkOut]

I know this is second nature to those of you (a) teaching or (b) with children, but what age are Year 8 pupils?

I assure you, even with children it is not second nature!

[Scurra]

Yes, that's becoming increasingly clear.

[LAT]

It certainly took a bit of getting used to when my son would talk about a boy being a first year realising he meant someone between 16 and 17 years old. Seems a bit late to be a first year in a school to me.

[MBH]

Had a look at the table 28 random words and single or double associated letters to be memorized in order??? That's a tall task - not something my brain would manage (then OR now).

13-19 could work with the idea of a Super-Vampire [Al SiPS ClArK] and 10-11 (10-11-10-11) is obviously a police car

[Bunnylump]

[Scurra]

I have to say that even I can remember the top line of the periodic table, (or "ha-he", if you prefer.)
And I can usually manage the next line, because it says "Lube Bacon Fun". (Well, that's close enough for me to remember what they are, anyway, even it's not terribly accurate.)

[LAT]

I started with Hy, HEllo LIttle Beryl. Boring Cars Not Often Found Near Nature. MyGranny Always SIts Perfectly Still.

But I got stuck there. I'll keep thinking.