Primary school

A primary school or elementary school is a school in which children receive primary or elementary education from the ages of about five to eleven, coming before secondary school and after preschool. It is the first stage of compulsory education in most parts of the world, and is normally available without charge, but may be offered in a fee-paying independent school. The term grade school is sometimes used in the US though this term may refer to both primary education and secondary education.

The term primary school is derived from the French école primaire, which was first used in 1802.

  • Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
  • Elementary school is preferred in some countries, especially in the United States and Canada.
  • In the United States, "primary school" may refer to a school with grades Kindergarten through second grade (K-2). In these municipalities, the "elementary school" includes grade three through five. The terms first school or infant school may also be used in North America though these, strictly speaking, refer to different educational programs.

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    Latest News for: primary schools

    Driver, 50, killed in 'road rage attack' was 'kind and inspirational' primary school teacher who ...

    The Daily Mail 30 Mar 2025
    A man killed in a suspected road rage attack was a 'kind and inspirational' primary school teacher who asked pupils to help him propose to his wife, it emerged today.

    Children as young as five attacking their teachers

    The Daily Telegraph 30 Mar 2025
    This included 15,283 assaults against adults and 10,441 against other children, which resulted in 421 primary school children being permanently expelled ... “Increases in behavioural issues at primary school level is a real worry.

    Create Tamil teaching posts in primary, middle schools: PMK founder Ramadoss

    Hindustan Times 30 Mar 2025
    Create Tamil teaching posts in primary, middle schools ... In primary and middle schools, a teacher trained in one particular subject may be able to take classes in another subject ... secondary schools.

    Children as young as five kicked out of class for attacking teachers amid rise in ...

    The Daily Mail 30 Mar 2025
    The figures also showed that across all age groups, more than 100 primary school pupils were excluded for theft in 2022/23 ... The data, obtained by The Telegraph, also suggested violence among primary school pupils may be getting worse.

    Much is going wrong with our children’s schooling

    The Daily Telegraph 30 Mar 2025
    When Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine raised questions about their nine-year-old daughter’s primary school in a WhatsApp group they received a visit from the Hertfordshire Constabulary.

    Parents arrested by Hertfordshire police for complaining about daughter’s school

    The Observer 30 Mar 2025
    The parents of a nine-year-old girl have said they were held at a police station for 11 hours because they complained about their daughter’s primary school ... A spokesperson for Cowley Hill primary ...

    Jully demands probe into ‘scam’ in school sports equipment purchases

    The Times of India 30 Mar 2025
    ... for schools ... Previously, Jully said, schools were allocated an annual budget for sports grants, with Rs 5,000 for primary, Rs 10,000 for upper primary, and Rs 25,000 for senior secondary schools.

    Police chief blasts force after parents arrested over school WhatsApp group - as cops warn ...

    The Daily Mail 30 Mar 2025
    The comments from Mr Ash-Edwards come amid a new revelation that a councillor was warned she could face the same fate if she continued helping the parents who had issue with the teacher recruitment process at their daughter's primary school.

    ‘An insult’: Amanda Spielman, Ofsted chief at time of Ruth Perry’s suicide, to be given a peerage

    The Observer 30 Mar 2025
    Sean Lang, a historian and the chair of governors at Queen Emma primary school in Cambridge, which successfully challenged what they described as a “brutal” inspection during Spielman’s tenure, said.

    Mqabba: abandoned by the state institutions

    The Malta Independent 30 Mar 2025
    The site is close to the Mqabba Primary School, yet the educational authorities are not known to have made any submissions on the impact of the proposed development on the school children and their teachers.

    Telangana govt to replace shorts with pants for boys in classes 6 and 7

    The Siasat Daily 30 Mar 2025
    ... in various institutions, including government schools, model schools, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs), general residential gurukul schools, aided schools, and tribal primary schools.

    Bristol has one of the country’s lowest birthrates. Here’s why

    The Times/The Sunday Times 30 Mar 2025
    For 150 years the streets around St Barnabas school in Montpelier, a bohemian neighbourhood in Bristol, rang with the sound of children ... The primary school closed two years ago in the face of huge opposition.

    Eccleshall residents excited to make Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide

    BBC News 30 Mar 2025
    The list picked out Eccleshall's cricket club, football club, primary school and year-round programme of community events for particular praise ... as well as a primary school and health centre.

    Cops arrest 12 teens after ‘knife-wielding gang stormed primary school party & launched attack’ sending ...

    The Sun 30 Mar 2025
    TWELVE teenagers have been arrested after a “knife-wielding gang of youths horrifically attacked a group of partygoers” at a primary school ... googleThe terrifying incident took place at Elm Park Primary School[/caption].

    How Rushden paedophile Robert Gould was convicted 50 years on

    BBC News 30 Mar 2025
    BBC News looks at how a man who "passed himself off as a respectable primary school teacher and church volunteer" was exposed as a ...
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