2014-2015 due to the implementation of the K-12 curriculum. Portugal In Portugal, the ninth grade (nono ano, 9º ano) is the last year of the three-year 3º Ciclo do Ensino Básico that also includes the seventh grade and the eighth grade. It is followed by the tenth grade, the first year of the three-year Ensino Secundário. At the end of the ninth grade, students must take national final exams (Provas finais nacionais). Singapore In Singapore, 9th grade is called Secondary 3, and it is the third year of one's secondary education. Students are usually 15 years old. Spain Ninth Grade in Spanish is called 3º de ESO (Tercero de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria), as it is the third year of the compulsory secondary education. Students are usually 14–15 years old. A secondary school in Spain has a four-year duration. Students in Spain generally start secondary school at the age of 12 and finish at the age of 16. The school year starts in September and lasts until the next year in June. Sweden In Sweden, ninth grade is the last year of högstadiet (Middle school). The students are usually between 15 and 16 years old. That makes ninth grade an important grade for almost every student. United Kingdom England and Wales In English and Welsh schools, 9th grade is equivalent to Year 10 (called Year 11 in Northern Ireland), and is for those aged 14 to 15. Some 93 per cent of school children in England and Wales attend state-funded comprehensive, secondary, or grammar schools, which most enter at the age of 11, taking GCSE exams at the end of the academic year (September 1 – August 31) in which their 16th birthday falls. Compulsory education continues beyond 16, when state-funded students can choose to remain at school in the "Sixth Form" or attend a sixth form college or further education college to take AS levels and A-levels or follow vocational courses or apprenticeships. In independent secondary schools, most children enter at the age of 13 and leave after A-levels, aged 18. In these schools, Year 10 is typically the second year of education. Scotland In Scotland, this is the third year (or S3) of a state-funded secondary school. Most children are aged 14–15. In S3 students will pick subjects to study for " National 4/5 exams" in S4, which are the qualifications they will need for college and or university.