Inclusive writing: Age

General guidance

Only refer to a person's age if it is relevant to the context in which you are writing.
Always avoid offensive terminology, ageism, and stereotypes and generalisations about age groups.
Avoid using age-related terms to describe people or groups where these are not relevant, such as describing a team at work as ‘young’ or ‘mature’.
Definitions of age groups such as ‘children’ and ‘young people’ are contextual and can differ across organisations and countries.
- If you are referring to a particular age group, for example in eligibility requirements for a course, be as specific as possible to avoid confusion. For example, use ‘16-24’ rather than ‘young people’.

The University’s Mature Students teams work with home undergraduate students who are over the age of 21 when they start their degree.
- This does not include postgraduate or international students, although other organisations may include these groups.
- Mature students are a diverse group of people with different educational backgrounds and reasons for study.
- When writing for a general undergraduate audience, be careful not to exclude mature students. For example, many students may not have studied A-levels or recently attended a school or college, and some may be returning to education after a long career.
- Note: each year, around two thirds of Bristol’s full-time first-year mature students are aged between 21 and 25. Foundation Year and English Literature and Community Engagement intakes are typically more diverse in age.
- Find further information for prospective mature students and current mature students.
In UK law, the Children Act (1989) defines a child as a person under the age of 18, and a young person as 16 or over but under 18. The University uses these definitions in its safeguarding policies.

Avoid using generational labels (‘Generation X’, ‘Baby Boomers’, ‘Millennials’) where possible. These can reinforce negative stereotypes, and the terms are not easily understood, especially by some international audiences.
When writing about people in older age groups, the term ‘older people’ is generally preferred.
- If you are writing about a specific person, ask them what term they would prefer to be used, if any.
- Avoid the terms ‘senior’, ‘middle-aged’, ‘elderly’, ‘pensioner’, ‘OAP’ and ‘senior citizen’.
- Avoid using euphemisms or patronising language to describe older people, such as ‘silver surfer’, ‘golden years’, ‘over the hill’, ‘80 years young’ or ‘of a certain age’.
The NHS generally defines age groups as follows (note that the definition of children is different to that in the Children Act, referenced above):
- Children: 4 to 12 years
- Teenagers: 13 to 19 years
- Young people: 16 to 24 years
- Adults: 19 years and older
- Older people: use ‘over-65s’, ‘over-75s’.

To find further information about behaviour that is not tolerated at the University, and report unacceptable behaviour, visit our pages for students or staff.