Advice

Hi! I have a few tips for starting secondary school! I'm going into Year 8 in September so I'm going to try and help as many Year 7's as I can. 1. Make sure you have everything the day before school starts, check through your bag a few times, find a checklist you can use online etc. I like to plan out my day so before school I like to hang my clothes for tomorrow out, get up early enough to get ready and don't rush yourself. 2. This may not obviously help everyone but I like to write my timetable out and decorate it. It's fun to make it really nice and you can even photocopy it and put one in your locker, bedroom, fridge etc 3. Talk to your teachers! As said in this article! 4. Try to chat to as many people as you can, even if it's just 'which building is geography in?' or compliment a classmate. 5. Don't try to hard to get one best friend. I got told this at the begining of Year 7. I know it's great to have a bestfriend and i paniced when both my best friends went to the same school without me. But now I have a big group of friends because everyone is really nice. I don't have one special friend because sometimes everyone is really nice and don't try to pick one person! 6. Try to get your homework done quickly. I know homework can be a pain but try to make it fun! You can make a schedule or watch your favourite tv show while you do it but make sure you focus on your homework alot too. It's better to get it over and done with! 7. Don't be too worried about your first day. Everyone in your class will be new too! But most importantly have fun! Hope this helps xx

Rabbit lover

Hi. Just thought I’d go through stuff about my school in case any of you are in a similar situation. My school is 30mins away, I don’t want to seem like I’m boasting but my parents are quite rich (they have at least one million pounds)so i will be getting a private taxi every day. Try to plan your route though. None of my friends are going there but I have asked some people from my secondary school for there numbers and I try and talk to them a lot. I got given a scholarship so have talked to a few people who I know have got similar scholarships to me. Always try and talk to people. We are not allowed to use phones in school but we can keep them in our bags, lockers or we are allowed to give them to a teacher for safe keeping and we are allowed to charge them up if we have forgotten. I think that is a good idea personally. My school has a buddy system where a year 8 looks after a year 7 and so on. Always try and ask for advice from the older students. And remember everyone is in the same boat so try and be as kind as you can possibly be. Xx

To Gigi

Hi Gigi, glad u love all the blogs, I do too, they are so helpful. Now for some tips ... 1. Make sure u know when to get on and off ur bus, as it can be stressful if you don't know ur stop. 2. Try and chat to as many people as possible. If u sit next to someone in a lesson, smile and say hi, or ask them a question about the work like " do you know the answer to question three?" to break the ice. 3. Even though it's hard, try and do ur homework as soon as u get home so u are not stressing about getting it done. 4. Remember, everyone else is as nervous as u are so being ur kind and beautiful self is all u need. Good luck xx and for any more advice, just ask Edie , I will try to answer xx

Gigi

Hiya! This blog, like so many others on this website has helped so much! I'm going to secondary school in two months. Any tips for really anything at all? For finding ur way around, learning new subjects, dealing with homework or handling the bus? I'm going to a school around twenty miles away and I don't know if I'm going to know anyone on the bus. Only two people I know are going to the same secondary school and at least we're all in the same form class. Do u move to classes with ur form class? I'd be grateful for ANY help. XX

Strawberry 3

Where I live we have first, middle and upper schools instead of primary and secondary. Don't mean to sound boastful but I think it is better our way because middle school is like a stepping stone to make going up to upper school in year 9 easier. Still I think it is probably similar and I would also say... Have a good breakfast beforehand and literally just throw yourself in. It took me so long to make friends as I wasn't sure how, but just start chatting to people. They are all in the same position as you. Finally, if you are going up with friends, arrange a place to meet before so you can go in together. I'm in year 10 now and have a solid friendship group. Hope you all get on OK and P.S. none of my middle school friends went to my upper school either! Xx

Re: Scared

I know it’s daunting. Believe me. I left a huge primary to go to a much smaller secondary far away. I was the only one and was so scared. However- being the only one from my primary at my secondary turned out to be a godsend. It allowed me to completely be in charge of my experience- I could change, be different, be the person I wanted to be. That didn’t mean changing myself completely, but if I wanted to be more confident, I could be. I could fling myself into new activities, make strong friends without damaging previous friendships. If someone from my old school had come with me, sure it would have made the start easier, who knows it might have made everything easier, but I know for a fact I would not have had the deep, strong friendships I have now, because I wouldn’t wanted to have hurt that person’s feelings. I still have friends from primary, and I am extremely grateful that my relationships with them have stayed the same. I’m in yr 9 now and honestly am much happier than I ever was. Yr 7 is tough. I won’t say it isn’t. You’re finding yourself. But work though it- you’ll be glad you did. You go girl x

Cherry ??

Just be yourself 😄. Try to pack your bags the night before and make sure you have all of your equipment. There's nothing worse than not having a glue stick on your first day! In the canteen be careful how much you spend because a lot of it can be overpriced. Try to sellotape your timetable or photocopy it before it gets screwed up. The number 1 thing is don't worry schools really help you settle in and there are hundreds of people in the same position as you! Good luck, you'll have lots of fun!