The Next Big Step

What are the main differences between primary and secondary school?

• Pupils often have to travel further. Some pupils will be making their way to and from school independently for the first time and many will be travelling by bus.
• They may have to wear a full school uniform for the first time, and they will have a whole list of new rules and regulations to remember.
• Instead of one teacher, who has often known them since their early years, they will be taught by several teachers and have to get to know a whole range of adults in different roles within the school.
• The school site will be much bigger and pupils will have to find their way around, moving from classroom to classroom between lessons, carrying their belongings with them.
• They will have to use and interpret a complex timetable and maintain their school Planner.
• For the first time pupils will be fully responsible for ensuring that they have the correct books and equipment for six or seven different lessons, their dinner money, bus fare, PE equipment etc.
• Pupils will be given responsibility for recording homework, completing it by the correct day and giving it in on time.
• There will be new lessons, such as History, and new variations on familiar ones such as Science in a laboratory.
• Teaching and learning styles may be very different. Pupils will be expected to write more frequently and for longer, and be expected to use the Independent Learning Centre on their own.
• Break-time and lunch-time will be organised differently with less adult supervision and pupils will have more independence in terms of getting back to lessons on time, buying their own snacks and lunches etc.

In general, pupils are expected to be more independent, resilient and self-organised at secondary school. This is usually a welcome development for many pupils but proves a challenge in the first few weeks.