How To prepare Your Child For Secondary School

Last Updated on: 22nd March 2022, 06:23 am

Prepare Your Child For Secondary School

20 years ago, I was a school snob. My daughter was going to go to grammar school whether she wanted to or not! Luckily she wanted to go there and was very happy with the choice. She was severely dyslexic and this school actually helped her, where he primary teacher had written her off. But it was a very strict school and was the top school in Kent at the time. So the pressure was on for good results all of the time. She excelled at school and went on to uni. My son went to the local comp, plodded on through his school life. And managed to get jobs abroad working as a greenkeeper. Something that was his passion and he had done throughout his teen years. He came out with average grades but actually achieved as much in life as his uni-educated sister but in a different way. But how do we actually prepare your child for secondary school?

Choosing A School

So now it is my youngest daughter’s time to go to secondary, and my opinions of secondary schools have changed. I have learned that there is more to life than grades and constant pressure to keep kids learning all of the time. I saw my daughter spend 3 or 4 hours a night doing homework. While my son would scribble his homework on a scrap of paper whilst eating breakfast. Going to secondary school is daunting, whether you choose, grammar, comp, or a private school.

Tilly was adamant that she wanted to go to the local comp, I didn’t want to see her be pressured at grammar school. So I felt this was the best choice for her. I am happy that she got the school she wanted and will encourage her the whole way. So here are some tips on how to prepare your child for secondary school.

Let Them Choose The School

There may only be one school in your local area, so if this is the case they will have to go there. But if there are a few schools to choose from, let them choose. Going to a school of their choosing is the first step to So here are some tips on how to prepare your child for secondary school. If you don’t agree with the choice, you can try and persuade them to change their mind. But if a child is sent to a school that they don’t want to be in, they will not put any effort into school.

Don’t Pressure Them To Take Entrance Exams

If you get your child to take entrance exams to get into a school and they don’t want to, they will probably just fail them on purpose. They will also feel anxious about the exams and afraid of letting you down if they fail. So much pressure is put on kids at school with exams. Even the word exam is enough to scare people, whether it’s a written exam or verbal. So if your child struggles with pressure, don’t force them to take extra exams.

Check If There Is A Summer School

Sometimes a secondary school will offer a kind of summer school. A special time to go in over the summer holidays to learn how to navigate the school and get to meet the teaching staff. The secondary school is going to be about 4 or 5 times the size of their primary school, so they really need this time to settle in. If it’s offered to your child, please take it. Other schools take in the year 7 children a few days earlier than the other students. This is another way of getting them to settle in first before they feel inundated with 100’s or 1000’s other students there.

Watching your child go off to secondary school is daunting for you too as a parent because you are watching the last stage of their formal education starting, they are well on their way to being teenagers and then adults. Take time to also help yourself out with the transition of changing school and letting go of primary education.

Go With You Gut Feeling

Nobody knows your child better than you! So if a member of the teaching staff is telling you to send your child to a school that you’re not happy with. Don’t send them there. It is much harder to change a school once they are in. If you have heard bad things about a school and don’t feel comfortable sending them there, then don’t.

Take Your Child To Visit The School

Take your child to visit the school in year 5, as well as in year 6. You can see how the school changes over a year then and also see if the first impression and second impression are the same with your child. It will also help you to see what the stats for the school are like over a couple of years. If you visit the school, the child will also see how much different a secondary school is. Although the difference hits them more on their first week at the new school.

Reassure Your child That They Will Make New Friends

They might be leaving some of their friends behind because they are all going to separate schools. But there will always be someone going to the same school as your child. And they will make new friends in their new class. They just need to know that everyone will be in the same boat as them. Encourage them to talk to you about making new friends.