Year Twelve is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is sometimes the twelfth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-compulsory education. It usually incorporates students aged between 15 and 18, depending on the locality.

Australia

In Australia, Year Twelve is either the 12th year of compulsory education or the first or second year of post-compulsory education, depending on the state. However, one may leave school in year 10, after completing a series of compulsory tests. Although there are slight variations between the states, most students in Year Twelve are aged between 17 and 18.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, Year Twelve is the 12th year of compulsory education. Students are aged 16 or 17 in this year group.
Year Twelve pupils are educated in Secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

s or in Area school

Area school

In New Zealand and Australia, an area school is a school that takes children from kindergarten age all the way through to tertiary entrance exams . They tend to be built in small towns where the cost of separate primary and secondary schools cannot be justified....

s.

England and Wales

In schools in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 Year Twelve is the 12th year after Reception

Reception (school)

Reception or Primary 1 or FS2 is the first year of primary school in the United Kingdom and South Australia. It is preceded by nursery and is followed by Year One in England and Wales or Primary 2 in Northern Ireland and Scotland.Pupils in Reception are usually aged between four and five...

. It is not part of compulsory education (but as of 2013 it will become compulsory.) and usually forms part of a Sixth form

Sixth form

In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...

 or Sixth-form college

Students in Year 12 in the mainland United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) can study A Level

GCE Advanced Level

The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...

 qualifications in sixth form college. Students have the option to stay at the school they studied their GCSE (or equivalent) qualifications or move to another educational facility which carries the A level. There are many subjects available to study at AS Level including sciences, mathematics, humanities

Humanities

The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....

 and languages but also vocational subjects such as art & design, drama and IT.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 Year Twelve is the fifth and final year of compulsory education. Students in Year Twelve are aged between 15 and 16. It is the final year of Key Stage 4

Key Stage 4

Key Stage 4 is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs, and other exams, in maintained schools in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland—normally known as Year 10 and Year 11 in England and Wales, and Year 11 and Year 12 in Northern Ireland, when pupils are...

.