A middle school (also known as intermediate school or junior high school) is a school for students older than elementary school, but not yet in high school. The ages covered varies between, and sometimes within, countries.
In Afghanistan, middle school consists of grades 6, 7 and 8.
In Algeria, a middle school includes grades 6 through 10, consisting of students from ages 10 or 11 to 15.
Most regions of Australia do not have middle schools, as students go directly from primary school (for years K–6) to secondary school (years 7–12, usually referred to as high school).
As an alternate to the middle school model, some secondary schools divided their grades into "junior high school" (years 7 to 8) and "senior high school" (years 9, 10, 11, and 12.)
In 1996 and 1997, a national conference met to develop what became known as the National Middle Schooling Project, which aimed to develop a common Australian view of