diff --git a/app/Controllers/View/AssignmentController.php b/app/Controllers/View/AssignmentController.php
index 27af370..e8b7d80 100644
--- a/app/Controllers/View/AssignmentController.php
+++ b/app/Controllers/View/AssignmentController.php
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use App\Models\StudentModel;
 use App\Models\TeacherModel;
 use App\Models\ClassSectionModel;
 use App\Models\ConfigurationModel;
+use App\Support\Enrollment\EnrollmentEligibility;
 use Config\Database;
 
 class AssignmentController extends BaseController
@@ -177,11 +178,13 @@ class AssignmentController extends BaseController
                 continue;
             }
 
+            $calculatedAge = EnrollmentEligibility::ageOnSeptemberFirst($student['dob'] ?? null, $year);
+
             $students[] = [
                 'id'                 => (int)$student['id'],
                 'firstname'           => esc($student['firstname']),
                 'lastname'            => esc($student['lastname']),
-                'age'                 => esc($student['age']),
+                'age'                 => esc((string)($calculatedAge ?? ($student['age'] ?? ''))),
                 'gender'              => esc($student['gender']),
                 'registration_grade'  => esc($student['registration_grade']),
                 'photo_consent'       => esc($student['photo_consent'] ? 'Yes' : 'No'),
diff --git a/app/Controllers/View/NavBuilderController.php b/app/Controllers/View/NavBuilderController.php
index 283fa0a..6375008 100644
--- a/app/Controllers/View/NavBuilderController.php
+++ b/app/Controllers/View/NavBuilderController.php
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ public function save()
         }
         unset($node);
 
-        $this->sortTreeByOrder($tree);
+        $this->sortTreeAlpha($tree);
 
         $flatAlpha = $all;
         usort($flatAlpha, fn($a, $b) => strnatcasecmp(
diff --git a/app/Services/NavbarService.php b/app/Services/NavbarService.php
index ede7593..0030c01 100644
--- a/app/Services/NavbarService.php
+++ b/app/Services/NavbarService.php
@@ -29,7 +29,9 @@ class NavbarService
         $allowedIds = $this->mapModel->getNavItemIdsForRoles($roles);
         if (empty($allowedIds)) return [];
 
-        // Load all enabled items, then filter. The builder controls this order.
+        // Load all enabled items, then filter.
+        // The displayed sidebar is alphabetized after the tree is built so
+        // new menu items fall into place without relying on manual sort_order.
         $rows = $this->navModel->where('is_enabled', 1)
             ->orderBy('sort_order', 'ASC')
             ->orderBy('label', 'ASC')
@@ -57,34 +59,22 @@ class NavbarService
         }
         unset($node);
 
-        $this->sortTreeByOrder($tree);
+        $this->sortTreeAlphabetically($tree);
 
         $this->cache->save($cacheKey, $tree, 300); // 5 minutes
         return $tree;
     }
 
-    private function sortTreeByOrder(array &$nodes): void
+    private function sortTreeAlphabetically(array &$nodes): void
     {
-        usort($nodes, function ($a, $b) {
-            $order = ((int) ($a['sort_order'] ?? 0)) <=> ((int) ($b['sort_order'] ?? 0));
-            if ($order !== 0) {
-                return $order;
-            }
-
-            $label = strnatcasecmp(
-                $this->labelSortKey((string) ($a['label'] ?? '')),
-                $this->labelSortKey((string) ($b['label'] ?? ''))
-            );
-            if ($label !== 0) {
-                return $label;
-            }
-
-            return ((int) ($a['id'] ?? 0)) <=> ((int) ($b['id'] ?? 0));
-        });
+        usort($nodes, fn ($a, $b) => strnatcasecmp(
+            $this->labelSortKey((string) ($a['label'] ?? '')),
+            $this->labelSortKey((string) ($b['label'] ?? ''))
+        ));
 
         foreach ($nodes as &$node) {
             if (!empty($node['children']) && is_array($node['children'])) {
-                $this->sortTreeByOrder($node['children']);
+                $this->sortTreeAlphabetically($node['children']);
             }
         }
         unset($node);