the average. 12: much over the average. Finland In Finland, ninth grade is the last year of compulsory schooling. The students are usually 14 – 16 years old. Afterwards, they can choose to go through tenth grade but it is not required. The meaning of tenth grade is to allow improving grades. France In France, the equivalent grade is the troisième or "3e" and it is the final middle school year before high school. Students prepare to take the "Diplôme National du Brevet" (DNB) examination - it's the first diploma given to French students, and attests of basic levels in major high school disciplines (French, Mathematics, History and Geography and sciences. They also have an oral on a subject they have to choose. And the grades of all the year of 3e also counts for the results). This diploma is not necessary to proceed on to high school. Germany In Germany, the equivalent grade is 9. Klasse. Greece In Greece, ninth grade is called third year of gymnasium school or middle school or lower secondary school (Triti Gymnasiou - Τρίτη Γυμνασίου) Hong Kong In Hong Kong, 9th grade is called Form 3/ Secondary 3. Students finishing Form 3 are needed to select their electives for them to study in Grade 10 (Form 4), Grade 11 (Form 5)and Grade 12 (Form 6). Some special schools made their students choose their electives after 8th grade (form 2) India After the National Education Policy 2020 9th grade in India is the freshman year of high school. In the 9th grade students get to choose 5 subjects of their choice. Mathematics, English, Science and Social Science are compulsory. There are various options for the second language like Sanskrit & Hindi. 9th grade is also important as it is the preparatory year for the 10th standard Board exams that will serve as the 1st exam out of 2 in order to pass out of high school. Ireland In Ireland, it is the Third Year or Tríú Bhliain of Secondary School (for 14- and 15-year-olds) this is known as 3rd year. This year is the year students take the Junior Certificate or Teastas Sóisearach. Italy In Italy, it is the first year of the upper secondary school (which translates into Scuola secondaria di secondo grado, informally called Scuola Superiore). In Italy ninth grade is called prima superiore. Usually, students are between 14 and 15 years old.