we are from dundee (scotland) hoping to move to calgary. my children are 5 & 11 and i wondered what grade/primary they would be in.

currently in p1 & p6

do children start school at 5?

Free (or, rather, tax payer-funded) schooling starts at the age of five, when children enter kindergarten. That grade is optional, but most parents do avail themselves of it. It is comprised of five half days a week.

Compulsory schooling starts in grade one, when the child is aged about six. That is the same year of schooling that English children do at the age of five. Sorry, I'm not British, and what I know about the British school system is mostly what I've found out from this forum. Through my membership here, I have become a little bit familiar with the English school system, but not the Scottish one.

I suggest you read the BE Wiki article on Canadian schooling and also the one on Calgary schooling.

Here is a recent discussion thread about children making transitions amongst the school systems of different countries. There are many others that a search of the forum will bring to light.

Hope that helps.

The School year (eg birth cut off dates) in Calgary is different to in England, but thinking about it I think it may be the same as scotland. The birth dates for Calgary are I think end feb to end feb and in effect they go one year later than they do in UK, but possibly more depending on their birthdays.

My son is 5 in September, in England he would have gone to full time school and been pretty much the oldest in his year but in Calgary he will start kindergarten. Had he been born in March he still would be going to school in england in September but in Canada he would have waited a full year to start KG.

When are you going?

Gryphea

As stated, children in Calgary can start kindergarten at age 5. Grade 1 in elementary (primary) school is at the age of 6, ie when Scottish kids would be starting Primary 2. Elementary school is from Grade1 to Grade 6, the kids then go to junior high school for Grades6-9 and then high school grades 10-12.
There are a few schools which are elementary / junior high schools and a few which are grade 4- 9 but on the whole kids in the public sector will attend 3 schools - elementary, junior high and high school. If you are in Calgary temporarily it would be worth speaking to the head teacher(Principal) of the school you intend sending your children to ,in order to see if they can be placed in the equivalent grade rather by their chronological age. (Going into primary 2 so go into grade 2. This will make your child around a year younger than most in the class but the work will be similar to that done in Scotland.)
A word of warning....There seems to be more pressure put on kids here regarding homework, studying etc so if your child has difficulty with keeping up with school work it would be best to keep them with kids of the same age. Hopefully the Principal will be able to consider your childrens needs and place them at the most appropriate grade for them.
Hope this helps..... Sallyann.

Not strictly true...

My daughter was 4 in February but will start Kindergarten in September. Your reply made it sound as if the child needs to be 5 before they start, this is not the case.