Starting secondary school is a significant milestone in your child's life.
Moving from primary to secondary school is a time of excitement and anxiety for both children and parents.
Starting secondary school marks a passage into adolescence and brings significant changes to a child’s life. Your child will go from being the oldest in school to being the youngest, having to find their way around a large new school with new friends and different teachers for different subjects.
They will also have to take more responsibility including:
- Learning a new route to school
- Getting used to school timetables
- Making sure they have the correct study books and school equipment
- Planning time of an evening for doing homework.
All of this will have to fit into your child’s new routine, alongside their other interests and the often daunting prospect of becoming a teenager. It can take time for children to adjust to these new responsibilities.
It's important to listen to their worries and have a think about what you can do to help
Moving Up! The transition to secondary school
Moving to secondary school can be exciting and frightening at the same time. Your child can help themselves by following the tips below:
Get organised!
Pack your school bag making sure you have all the equipment you may need. For example, pencil case, pens, dictionary, notepad etc. Doing this every night before bed is less stressful than rushing in the morning where you are might forget something too if you are rushing.
Communication
Ask for help or talk to someone you trust if you have any concerns or worries. This could be your parents, carer, teacher, school nurse, an older sibling or friends.
Making new friends can be hard and scary at first but remember everyone else is in the same situation.
Try to be confident
First impressions last a long time so try to be confident and speak to new people.
Uniform
Make sure you are wearing the correct uniform and remember to take your PE kit into school when you have PE lessons.
Travelling to school
Plan your journey to school beforehand. It is a good idea to practice the journey a few times before your first day at school.
Time keeping
Make sure you arrive at school in plenty of time before your first lesson of the day starts. Being late can be stressful!
Timetables
Make sure you stick to the timetable that your form tutor gives you. This will show you which lesson you should be in at a certain time.
New opportunities
Make the most of all the new opportunities offered to you. Get involved in new clubs, activities and after-school sports.
Find your way around the school and familiarise yourself with their settings.
Enjoy it!
Making new friends and learning new things is exciting.
For some top tips from year 7s who started secondary school last year and are now moving into year 8, visit BBC newsround’s website.
Remember
If you have any concerns or worries about going to secondary school it’s a good idea to speak to your parents or carer, or to someone you trust. If you have any older siblings, you could ask them about their experiences. They will probably have some words of wisdom to share as they will have been through the same thing.