学級
がっきゅう · gakkyuu · JLPT N2 · noun
class
🏫 学 (gaku) = study + 級 (kyuu) = grade level: a class is a study grade, a group at one level.
学級 is study (学) plus grade or rank (級), so a class is a group of students studying at the same level. The 級 in 進級 (shinkyuu, promotion to the next grade) is the same kanji.
学 — hands 𦥑 + roof 冖 + child 子
Originally 學, depicting two hands manipulating something (often interpreted as counting rods or the 爻 trigram symbols) under a roof, with a child 子 below — a child learning under instruction. The simplified form 学 replaces the top with a stylized 龸. Core meaning has always been 'to study, learn'.