Thank you, I'm trying to be fair to Gwen, but as I said, it won't be Gwen-friendly.
It seems to vary, not just from country to country but also from state to state. Here in Australia, schooling begins at Kindergarten level, and then continues on into what we call "Prep", and then Grade 1, 2, 3, etc. I remember being confused for a long time, though - I started school in Sydney, in New South Wales, and there it was firstly Pre-School, followed by Kindergarten, and then on to grade 1, etc. (Primary school here is grade 1 through 6, secondary school is Year 7 through 12) But when we moved to Victoria, I discovered that Pre-school was called Kindergarten, Kindergarten was called Prep... All very confusing for a little tacker!
It's also common here for secondary school students to have graduation ceremonies at the end of their Year 12 studies, before continuing on to study at university. I had graduation ceremonies at the end of Year 12, after the completion of my first bachelor degree and again at the end of my Honours degree.
So, strictly speaking, it's not an Americanism, it's an Australianism!
no subject
It seems to vary, not just from country to country but also from state to state. Here in Australia, schooling begins at Kindergarten level, and then continues on into what we call "Prep", and then Grade 1, 2, 3, etc.
I remember being confused for a long time, though - I started school in Sydney, in New South Wales, and there it was firstly Pre-School, followed by Kindergarten, and then on to grade 1, etc. (Primary school here is grade 1 through 6, secondary school is Year 7 through 12) But when we moved to Victoria, I discovered that Pre-school was called Kindergarten, Kindergarten was called Prep... All very confusing for a little tacker!
It's also common here for secondary school students to have graduation ceremonies at the end of their Year 12 studies, before continuing on to study at university. I had graduation ceremonies at the end of Year 12, after the completion of my first bachelor degree and again at the end of my Honours degree.
So, strictly speaking, it's not an Americanism, it's an Australianism!