England and Wales

Students at the beginning of their first year of university are often known in England and Wales as freshers; however, the term 'first years' is also used. The first week of term before lessons are widely known as freshers' week^[7] where there are usually no classes and students take part in induction events and fairs. As Freshers are newcomers to the institutions and often experience a period of adjustment as they navigate university life, there are numerous UK websites available that offer support and resources to help freshers with university preparations, such as providing guidance on accommodation, academic advice, social activities, and general tips for a successful start to their university journey.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]}

Unlike in Scotland, this term is not used in reference to pre-university education, the equivalent terms being Year sevens for the first year of secondary school and first years, lower sixers and Year Twelves used at sixth forms.^{[15][16][17][18]}

Scotland

First year (also known as S1 in Scotland) is the first year of schooling in secondary schools in Scotland and is roughly equivalent to Year 8 (Second Form) in England and Wales and Year 9 (Second Form) in Northern Ireland. Most pupils are 12 or 13 years old at the end of S1.

The first year of primary education in Scotland is known as Primary 1 (P1).

At the four ancient Scottish universities the traditional names for the four years at university are Bejan ("Bejant" at the University of St Andrews) (1st),^[19] Semi (2nd), Tertian (3rd) and Magistrand (4th), though all Scottish universities will have a "freshers' week" (as with all British universities) and the term is as widely used with more traditional terms.^[20]

Beginner

Freshman is commonly in use as a US English idiomatic term to describe a beginner or novice, someone who is naive, a first effort, instance, or a student in the first year of study (generally referring to high school or university study).^[21]

First Year Congressional representatives

New members of Congress in their first term are referred to as freshmen senators or freshmen congressmen or congresswomen, no matter how experienced they were in previous government positions.

First year high school students

High school first year students are almost exclusively referred to as freshmen, or in some cases by their grade year, 9th graders. Second year students are sophomores, or 10th graders, then juniors or 11th graders, and finally seniors or 12th graders.

First year university students

At college or university, freshman denotes students in their first year of study. The grade designations of high school are not used, but the terms sophomore, junior, and senior are kept at most schools. Some colleges, including historically women's colleges, do not use the term freshman but use first year, instead.^[22][23] Beyond the fourth year, students are simply classified as fifth year, sixth year, etc. Some institutions use the term freshman for specific reporting purposes.^[24]