Princess Charlotte Is Headed for Two Major Milestones When the School Year Starts

• When the school year starts this fall, Princess Charlotte will begin Year 2, which means the six-year-old royal is headed for a couple of education milestones.
• First, Year 2 is the last year of infant or lower levels in U.K. primary schools, meaning that this school year marks the end of an era for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's only daughter.
• Year 2 students also take SATs (Standard Assessment Tests—tests currently given at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 to evaluate academic progress), which will be another first for Charlotte.

Princess Charlotte is growing up (opens in new tab) so fast.

When the school year kicks off this fall, the six-year-old royal will return to Thomas's Battersea school in south-west London, where she will officially begin Year 2. As Hello! (opens in new tab) magazine (opens in new tab) points out, this is a big milestone for a couple of reasons.

First, it's going to mark the end of an era for Charlotte (opens in new tab) because Year 2 is the final year of lower school years in the United Kingdom. In England primary school (opens in new tab) (the equivalent, more or less, of elementary school in the United States) is sometimes divided into two stages. Year 1 and Year 2 students (who are typically five and six year olds) are in the the first stage, which is known as the infant or lower levels, while older kids (those between the ages of seven and 10 who are in Years 3-6) are in the second stage, which is referred to as junior level.

The second Year 2 milestone that Charlotte (opens in new tab) has to look forward to (or not, depending on how she feels about standardized testing) is her first SATs. In the U.K., SATs stands for "Standard Assessment Tests" (opens in new tab) and refers to exams that primary school children take during Year 2 and Year 6 as a way to evaluate their academic progress. Children in Charlotte's year are tested in math and reading (and there's an optional test in English that covers grammar, punctuation, and spelling).

Unlike most standardized tests in the U.S., the SATs aren't timed, which makes them inherently less stress-inducing. Charlotte (opens in new tab) could also be the last member of the royal family to take Year 2 SATs, which are set to become option starting in 2023, according to the U.K.'s The Good Schools Guide (opens in new tab). 

Sending Charlotte some extra good vibes and happy thoughts for her big school year.