Guide · Practicalities
UK Years, US Grades and Serbian razred: a Belgrade conversion table
What year your child goes into, across the five systems taught in Belgrade — and why the school will still place by age and prior schooling rather than by this table.
Updated August 2026 · schools' own pages read 24 August 2026
The quick rule: an English Year number is one higher than the American Grade number for the same age — Year 7 and Grade 6 are both eleven-year-olds. The Serbian system is the one that trips people up, because Serbian children start school a year later than English ones: Serbian 1. razred is roughly English Year 3 and American Grade 2, not Year 1. A child arriving from English Year 5 goes into Serbian 3. razred, not 5. The table below sets all five systems against age, which is what Belgrade schools actually place by.
The conversion, by age
| Age at start of year | England & Wales | United States | Serbia | IB | Cambridge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3–4 | Nursery | Pre-K | Predškolsko (optional) | PYP | Early years |
| 4–5 | Reception | Pre-K / K | Predškolsko | PYP | Early years |
| 5–6 | Year 1 | Kindergarten | Predškolski program | PYP | Cambridge Primary 1 |
| 6–7 | Year 2 | Grade 1 | 1. razred (from age 6½) | PYP | Cambridge Primary 2 |
| 7–8 | Year 3 | Grade 2 | 1.–2. razred | PYP | Cambridge Primary 3 |
| 8–9 | Year 4 | Grade 3 | 2.–3. razred | PYP | Cambridge Primary 4 |
| 9–10 | Year 5 | Grade 4 | 3.–4. razred | PYP | Cambridge Primary 5 |
| 10–11 | Year 6 | Grade 5 | 4.–5. razred | PYP | Cambridge Primary 6 |
| 11–12 | Year 7 | Grade 6 | 5.–6. razred | MYP 1 | Lower Secondary 7 |
| 12–13 | Year 8 | Grade 7 | 6.–7. razred | MYP 2 | Lower Secondary 8 |
| 13–14 | Year 9 | Grade 8 | 7.–8. razred | MYP 3 | Lower Secondary 9 |
| 14–15 | Year 10 | Grade 9 | 8. razred / 1. srednje | MYP 4 | IGCSE year 1 |
| 15–16 | Year 11 | Grade 10 | 1.–2. srednje | MYP 5 | IGCSE year 2 |
| 16–17 | Year 12 | Grade 11 | 2.–3. srednje | DP 1 | AS Level |
| 17–18 | Year 13 | Grade 12 | 3.–4. srednje | DP 2 | A Level |
Ages are at the start of the school year. Serbian year groups are shown as a range because the Serbian entry age — six and a half to seven and a half at the start of Grade 1, under Article 18 of the Law on the Foundations of the Education System — spans a wider band than the English or American ones, so a given birthday can land either side of the line.
What the table cannot tell you
Three things about Belgrade that this table cannot tell you, and that decide where your child actually ends up.
Schools place by age and prior schooling, not by conversion
Every Belgrade international school reserves the right to place a child where it judges best, and they use different cut-offs to do it. ISB requires the child to have reached the year's age before 1 September. Deutsche Schule Belgrad uses 31 July — a full month earlier, which moves some summer birthdays a whole year. Chartwell places by "age and school history". So a child can convert cleanly on paper and still be offered the year below.
Moving up a year is hard; moving down is common
ISB publishes the only explicit policy we found on advancement, and it is demanding: a two-week observation, a letter from an administrator, and a standardised cognitive test result at least one standard deviation above the norm. Most schools will more readily place a child down a year — usually where language is the issue — and for a child arriving without the language of instruction that is often the right call, even when it feels like a setback.
Serbia's extra year is not lost time
Serbian primary school runs eight years and starts a year later, so a child moving from the English system into the Serbian one appears to drop two year numbers. They have not lost two years. The systems finish at the same age: Serbian 4. razred of secondary and English Year 13 both end at eighteen. The numbering differs, the destination does not.
The one place this does bite is the paperwork. Moving a child into the Serbian system requires recognition of their foreign school documents through the Agency for Qualifications — a primary certificate must be recognised before enrolling in a Serbian secondary school. The statutory deadline is 30 days from a complete submission. Start it before the school year, not during it.
Questions families ask
What Serbian razred is my child in if they are in UK Year 5?
Roughly 3. razred. Serbian children start school a year later than English ones, so Serbian razred numbers run about two behind English Year numbers: 1. razred is roughly Year 3, 5. razred roughly Year 7. The systems finish at the same age even though the numbering differs.
What is US Grade 6 in the Serbian system?
Roughly 5. razred. American Grade numbers run about one behind Serbian razred numbers: Grade 2 is roughly 1. razred, Grade 6 is roughly 5. razred. Both systems place eleven-year-olds in those years.
Is UK Year 7 the same as US Grade 7?
No. English Year numbers are one higher than American Grade numbers for the same age. Year 7 and Grade 6 are both eleven-year-olds; Year 11 and Grade 10 are both fifteen-year-olds. A child moving from English Year 7 goes into American Grade 6.
Will a Belgrade school put my child in the year this table says?
Usually, but not always, and no school is bound by it. Schools place by age and prior schooling, and they use different age cut-offs — ISB requires the year's age before 1 September, Deutsche Schule uses 31 July. Where a child does not yet have the language of instruction, a school may place them a year below, which is common and usually the right call.
Can my child skip a year at a Belgrade school?
Rarely. ISB publishes the only explicit policy we found and it requires a two-week observation, an administrator's letter and a standardised cognitive test result at least one standard deviation above the norm. Other schools do not publish criteria, which in practice means it is decided case by case and is not something to plan around.