Parent Hub | Transition to secondary school

Find information, tips and the best books to prepare your children for the transition from primary school to secondary school.

Easing the transition

Finishing at primary school and moving to secondary school can prove to be a time of mixed emotions for children, with excitement tinged with anxiety. We’ve put together some things you can do with your child to help make the move from Year 6 to Year 7 a little easier.

Tackle the timetable

Being able to read a timetable and organise themselves accordingly is a vital skill for secondary pupils. Spend a session helping your child become familiar with a timetable can be helpful.

Many schools run a ‘two-week timetable’, where some or all of the lessons differ, depending on whether it is week 1 or week 2. Show them the example and ask the children to work out which lessons vary between the two weeks.

Where am I?

One thing that children often worry about is getting lost in their new, bigger school. To help your child become better at following maps of a building, try giving them a plan of somewhere, alongside some things to find, such as:
  • a bench
  • all the outdoor litter bins
  • some playground markings
  • a tree or hedge
  • a sheltered place
  • a sign or notice
  • a fire door
  • a fence
  • something circular
  • something measuring approximately one metre tall


Brilliant books to help

We know how starting at a new school can be for children. To help ease the transition, we have selected a range of fiction and non-fiction books that are perfect for helping children find their feet.

Go Big
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Go Big: The secondary school survival guide

The bestselling back to school handbook, from the nation’s favourite head teacher, Mr Burton.

Secondary school can seem scary. Corridors are wide, older students look terrifying and there’s homework, messy friendships and stressful exams to deal with. But, whether you’re about to land at secondary school or you’re still settling in, Mr Burton is here to guide you through your journey – worry-free.

Written by head teacher and star of Educating Yorkshire, Mr Matthew Burton, this is the ultimate secondary school survival guide.

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