A government decree obliging and stipulating that children of an officially determined age-group, unless exempted, to attend a certain number of years of schooling.

School education for all children between the ages of 5 and 16.

lasts for nine years and starts on the first of September following a child's sixth birthday. It applies to all children permanently resident in Austria irrespective of their nationality.

Compulsory education refers to two stages of education in the UK. The first stage is primary education with performance assessed by Key Stages. The second stage is the early part of secondary education leading to GCSE examinations (General Certificate of Secondary Education). Primary and early secondary education are equivalent to levels 1 and 2 of ISCED (International Standard Classification of Education).

Compulsory education is education which children are required by law to receive and governments to provide. Homeschooling is typically an alternative to going to government-accredited schools.