My first year at secondary school
The transition from primary school pupil to secondary school pupil sees big changes in terms of responsibilities, organisational skills and joining a new community. Mum and daughter, Michelle and Ella, share their experience of the first year of secondary school, with some invaluable tips for those about to start Year 7.
[Related articles: Preparing for secondary school | Tips for starting secondary school]
Ella, 12
I was really worried about homework and older students. For homework, I’m not very good at remembering to do things and I feared I’d forget to complete it! In fact, general organisation troubled me. I knew I’d need to make sure I had everything I needed for different lessons with me (PE kit, calculator, books, etc) and I didn’t know how I’d make sure I didn’t forget. My concerns about older children stemmed from primary school. When I saw them I always thought they were laughing at me or would tease me.
I was also a little worried about getting lost, but I did feel that was part of the adventure of starting secondary school and something I would just get used to. Once I had started, I found that of the older students, most were really helpful. The odd student was a bit silly but they never really caused me any problems. In fact, I joined the school drama club, where there were lots of older children. You didn’t even notice that they were older as you all work together as a community when you’re working on a show.
For homework, I found that just taking good notes to help you remember exactly what you needed to do was really useful, and to do the homework at the earliest opportunity to ensure that it doesn’t build up, causing lots to be due at the last minute.
To help with organisation, we bought a big folder with different slots. I assigned a day of the week to each slot and put everything I needed for that day in that slot. Then, the night before I organised my bag using a checklist that I had written.
Michelle
For us, the main anxieties were around whether Ella would continue to enjoy and thrive at school, meet lovely friends with whom she had lots in common and if she would cope with all of the changes that transition to secondary school brings. Ella’s move was from a very small village primary school where there were fewer than ten children in her school year, to a much larger secondary school that was situated outside of the village and required a bus journey to reach. This was the cause of some apprehension, and we also shared Ella’s nervousness about the sudden increased responsibilities; how would she fare with managing homework demands, ensuring that she had the right kit for each lesson, not missing the school bus!
We did some preparation during Ella’s year 6 by attempting to give her a little more freedom – allowing her to stay out for longer but with a very definite deadline to return by and using the new watch that we had equipped her with, taking her to the pick-up and drop-off bus stops to familiarise her with where she would be and even practising using the bus, which is something that we as a family never ordinarily use. Her primary and secondary school were also very good in helping to ease the transition from one to the other with lots of visits from staff and students of her future secondary school to her primary school, and a number of events for the Year 6 children to attend at the secondary school to begin to familiarise her too.
Ella has now completed her first year in secondary school, and I would view the whole experience as extremely positive. Ella adores her new school, has made friends with three other girls who really seem to bring out the best in her and she has learned to cope(!) very well with the logistics of secondary school life. There have been frantic phone calls at times as she’s realised she has left PE kit at home or forgotten to get her planner signed, but it has also taught her to build in more organisation into her evenings and morning routine to help take the stress out of leaving the house for school each day.
The key learning for us this year has been that Ella was far more capable of responsibility than we had imagined, and has grown immeasurably from taking this on; a watch – just a simple wristwatch – can be invaluable for just keeping them on time for things, particularly if they’re attending a school with a strict policy around the use of mobile phones; if they’re relying on a bus, equip them with some spare change in a purse buried deep in the bottom of their school bag for those inevitable days when they can’t find their bus pass or they’ve missed the school bus; they WILL lose a lot of school uniform – if you have to order this from a specialist supplier and it might take a little while to receive, buy lots of spares!
Good luck!
Read more tips in Starting secondary school: Five common concerns and ways to help overcome them >