Primary education

Primary or elementary education consists of the first years of formal, structured education that occur during childhood. In most countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education (though in many jurisdictions it is permissible for parents to provide it). Primary education generally begins when children are four to seven years of age. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age (adolescence); some educational systems have separate middle schools with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, schools which provide primary education are referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior schools.

In Canada and the United States, schools providing primary education are more often referred to as elementary schools or e., 12th grade (American), grade 12 (Canadian).