Tenth [10th] grade (called Grade 10 in some regions) is the tenth year of school post-kindergarten or the tenth year after the first introductory year upon entering compulsory schooling. In many parts of the world, the students are 15–16 years of age, depending on when their birthday occurs. The variants of 10th grade as it is found and occurs in different nations are described below.
Year 10, for most Australian states, is the fourth year of a student's high school education. However, in the Northern Territory, it is the first year of senior school, which occurs after high school. While in contrast, in most South Australian public schools, it is the third year of high school. For more in depth information on Australia's education system, see: Education in Australia.
In Belgium, the 10th grade is called 4ème secondaire in French (Walloon), or 4de middelbaar in Dutch (Flemish).
In Canada, Grade 10 is the 10th year of mandatory schooling. Depending on province, it may be the first (grades 10-12 high school), second (grades 9-12 high school), third (grades 8-12 high school), or fourth year of high school (grades 7-11 high school) .
In Denmark the 10th grade may refer to an extra year of primary school. Earlier, 10th grade was mostly for people who had a hard time in primary school and needed an extra year to prepare for high school (or another secondary education of some sort), but nowadays, it is widely popular amongst challenged and gifted students alike and usual attended at a special kind of boarding school called an "Efterskole". 10th can also be attended at a regular school, though. This year is usually taken as a way to get a break from the school system and relax and try something different before moving on to high school. But, more commonly, people attend the "gymnasium" (can be compared to high school) where you go from 10th-12th grade (as such, some people attend 10th grade twice). People don't usually call the steps of the Danish gymnasium for 10th, 11th or 12th grade, but usually refer to them as 1st G, 2nd G, and 3rd G. Here, G is simply the letter "G", and it refers to the three different steps of the education.
In Finland tenth grade is usually known as the first year of High School ("Lukio" in Finnish and "Gymnasiet" in Swedish). The tenth grade may also refer to an extra year of primary school ("kymppiluokka" in Finnish which literally translates to "tenth grade"). This extra year of primary school is for those without a post-primary school study position or who need some more time to decide on their future.
The tenth year of schooling in France is known as the , so called because it is the second last in secondary education. It is the first year of High School ("Lycée")