Is “grade” used only in the US?

Question

Let's consider this sentence :

I am in the 11th grade.

Is "grade" an American word here or could it also be used in the UK?

Incidentally, in Canada we say "grade" but we don't use the ordinal number: Grade 5, not fifth grade. — Luke Sawczak, Nov 24 '18 at 12:37
Of interest: why do Americans prefer to use the term grade instead of class? — choster, Nov 24 '18 at 23:17

Lee Mac · Accepted Answer · 2018-11-24 14:52:39Z

17

In the context of your example, in the UK* we would typically use the word Year, e.g.:

I am in Year 11

(Though, Year 11 in the UK would be roughly equivalent to 10th Grade in the US)

Grade would typically be used to describe the results of an exam.

*more specifically, in England, since education in the UK is devolved to each of the home countries' respective governments.

answered Nov 24 '18 at 12:13

Lee Mac

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1

In Scotland, education starts age 4.5-5.5 and is split into Primary (1-7) and Secondary (1-6). So, a 15 year old will be in Secondary School, 4th or 5th year. Secondary schools are sometimes called academies. "Primary x" is used to refer to the primary years, but secondary is "x year". – Pam Nov 24 '18 at 16:48
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Most people in the UK will recognize "grade" as something to do with a child's progress through school, but many won't know exactly what it means. Note also that the minority of UK schools which were not steam-rollered into comprehensive education may still use the names that were based on the "public school" system (note, "public schools" in the UK are fee-paying private schools, not part of the state education system) where after age 11 the classes or "forms" were known as 3rd, lower 4th, upper 4th, lower 5th, upper 5th (the last year of compulsory education), lower 6th, and upper 6th. – alephzero Nov 24 '18 at 19:32
I think it should actually be "in England and Wales". It is only Northern Ireland and Scotland which have devolved education; English and Welsh education is administered by the UK government. – Especially Lime Nov 24 '18 at 19:42
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@EspeciallyLime education is devolved to the Welsh Assembly government and not a UK government responsibility. – JeremyC Nov 24 '18 at 22:20

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