In the United States, high school graduates are typically 17 or 18 years old. Most students start kindergarten at age 5 and complete one grade level per year for a total of 13 grade levels from kindergarten to 12th grade. Given this structure, if a student does not skip or repeat any grades, they will graduate high school around age 18. However, some students may graduate high school at an earlier or later age than the typical 18 years old due to grade skipping or retention. In Canada, students generally enter their Grade-12 year when they are 16 or 17 years old, and they generally graduate high school at 17 or 18 years old. In England and Wales, students are usually 16-17 in Year 12 and 17-18 in Year 13, which is the last year of A-Level certifications that finalize a students last academic year. In Finland, some people choose to have a one-year gap between the 9th grade and gymnasiums 1st G, where students typically go to special art- or sport-oriented boarding schools or become exchange students all over the world. This is optional though; students can go directly to the first year of secondary school after 9th grade.