Thread: Clarification of educational terminology

I am regularly confused by various terminology used in educational systems in different countries: I'm from the UK and people telling me they've "majored in...", their child is in "grade...", they're at "college [the term is used here but apparently refers to a different stage]", is often meaningless to me. So I was writing this to seek clarification and I'll start by outlining the educational process in the UK.

Primary 1 to Primary 7 (ages 4 to 11 respectively)

Then either to a High school or Grammar school, typically, High schools teach people from year 8 to year 12 (ages 12 to 16), were they leave following GCSEs. Grammar schools (sometimes called colleges) have years 13 and 14 (ages 17 and 18) where students can do A levels.

Then, if they do well enough in their A levels, University, often abbreviated to Uni (which I think is called college in other places?).

There is some minor difference depending on decade or location, but in the US the basics are roughly this:

Age 3 - Pre-school / Nursury school (or, toddler camp is maybe a better term given what it really is)
Age 4 - Pre-kindergarten
Age 5 - Kindergarten
Age 6 to 10 / Grades 1 to 5 - Elementary school
Age 11 to 13 / Grades 6 to 8 - Middle School (sometimes called junior high, but usually when grade 7 to 9)
Age 14 to 18 / Grades 9 to 12 - High School
College / University - Used interchangably - After high school

Note, sometimes people go to junior college or community college which offers basic courses and sometimes 2 year degrees. Generally this is done as a stepping stone into more formal university.

Most of Canada uses the same system as the US.

Quebec uses the same system as the UK, with some name differences.

Pre-Kindergarten, 1 year. Starting at age 4.
Kindergarten, 1 year.
Primary 1-6
Secondary 1-5
College 2 years for university track, 3 years for vocational diplomas. (the official name of the public colleges is C.E.G.E.P., which stands for Collegial Education General et Professionel, with some accents that I'm too lazy to include) We don't do A levels though, you're expected to achieve a diploma in Liberal Arts, Social Sciences, Pure and Applied Science, Health Sciences, Music, or Art. There is also a general education component all are required to take, includes 4 first language (English or French), 2 second language (the other of the official languages), 3 physical education, 3 humanities, and 2 complementary courses from a stream outside your own.
University

(Our universities use the major/minor system like the US, but you apply directly into your program of study, and it is usually difficult to change majors, it requires reapplying to the university)