crosslc

I know that the school year in Oz starts in Jan...

In both UK and France, the school year is Sept - July BUT....

In France , which year you go into depends on which year you are born; in UK it depends on whether your birthday is before or after September in a given year.

Is it according to year of birth in Oz?

Many thanks

Clare.

Glw88

Yeah it is is according to year from what I remember.

NickyC

Different states have different cut-off dates.

In NSW it's before/after July for state schools.

yanH

In NSW the cut off date is 31st July, meaning that the typical age of starting school will be between 4 and a half and 5 and a half. For example, to start kindergarten class in public schools at the end of January this year a child must have turned 4 on or before July 31st 2007. However, where we live in Sydney it is not unusual for children (especially boys) born anytime between about March and July to be "held back" a year so that they don't actually start school until they are nearly 6. I think that the legal age when a child must be in school is 6.
I think this varies according to state though, as I have a friend in WA whose daughter is the same age as my son (both October birthdays) but she is a year above him as their intake is done on calendar year of birth.

Hutch

Yep - found the same. All of which has a great bearing on how young British kids fit in, when their peers are often as much as 18 months older than them.