WHAT AGE do parents put their kids in school in Turkey? Do they have Pre-School there? I'm wondering after reading an article on todayszaman.com about the differences in culture in schools.

Here's the article:

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=125894

Also, to add to this question...is learning English mandatory in school, and if so, at what age do they start to learn?

They start to learn English in 4th grade but it never works

I've read age 6 is school age....anyone else know?

6 is the preschool age in turkey. preschool is called as "anaokulu" or "anasınıfı" or "kreş"

elemantary school age is 7. In private schools english is being learned from the 1st class or even from preschool sometimes. however in state schools it works somewhat slower..

Are private schools pretty costly there? I know they are here and I wonder do they have waiting lists to get in?

Okay, let's get even more specific....lol...

In the US, there is a cutoff of when a child can enter school. Their birthday must fall before the start of class (usually August) in order to start school for that year. If it does not, they have to wait another year. So let's say you have a child who turns 6 in January...are they already in pre-school or will they start the next year? I know, silly question, but now I'm simply CURIOUS!

Is pre-school for the whole day or just half a day? In the US it can be either (depends on the school).

Starting elementary at 7 years old sure seems like a late start, but I'm accustomed to US kids who start at 5. Especially if they have cut-off dates for entry...Imagine if your child doesn't go to kindergarten (I read the rate is fairly low in Turkey currently). If your child does not turn 7 in the fall, but does so in the spring, and is therefore not allowed to attend school yet because they're not old enough, your child is almost 8 years old before he/she begins any schooling. WOW! US kids are already in about 2nd grade at this point (not that they end up doing any better in life! ).