The third year becoming Year Nine and all that

[Richard1978]

Re: The third year becoming Year Nine and all that

I remember I went from Year 1 to Year 8 in 1990, so maybe my school was a bit early introducing it.

It always seemed to be one year out, as I had 7 years at primary school, unless the first year of primary school was a year 0.

[George 1978]

In which academic year were school years "decimalised"? In other words, when did the third year of comprehensive school become Year 9? I am certain that it was the 1991-1992 academic year - that was when my school and my local LEA started to adapt to the system, although I am certain that it had been used for the previous academic year at least, although I think it was John Major's government (along with the National Curriculum and the Education Reform Act 1988) which were responsible for the changes.

I was confused at first as I thought that by 1991, I had been in the local education system ten years (three different schools, an Infants, a Juniors, and a Comprehensive), and I thought that I had been in the Infants for three years, not counting the nursery part, or I was counting the nursery part as Year 1 and not the first year of the Infant part as Year 1 - I know that some had said that the Infants had a third year back then. I used to laugh when my late mother used to find pronouncing the word "curriculum" very difficult! At a parents evening, she used to get confused about the Year 9 or 10 situation - "but he hasn't been at your school for nine/ten years". Cue teaching staff member explaining the new system to her.

I know that, for example, pupils who had been, let's say, in form 3X of comprehensive school used to write on the front of their English, Mathematics, History, etc exercise books, both 3X and 9X together (3X/9X), "translating" both if you like. I am certain that it had been in use in 1990, although my school didn't use it until the following year - did any schools or LEAs resist the year numbering changes at first, I wonder? I suppose that it was done like that to avoid confusion - if one said that they were in the third year at school, people wouldn't know whether it was third year at Infants, Juniors or Comprehensive level, and so the system allowed continuity from the start to end of one's education. I for one was confused, assuming at first that I had six years' summer holiday rather than six weeks in August of that year! Ironically, 1991 had been nine years since my sister started comprehensive school, although she had left for four years by then!

I have to admit that it did make us sound more "senior" at comprehensive school level instead of going "back to square one" and being first years again after a year of being fourth years - there was something rather rewarding about all that! And now we have academies with a "one size fits all" education system...