Silly questions about starting secondary school

Wait till they ask for gum shields...they only get lost ,anyway! And if your child has braces you cant get them on over them either.

Buy whatever pens your child is happiest with...usually the big packs are best.

I bought shin pads cos it said on the list for my oldest when he first startedsecondary...but I never bothered with anyone else. Only important if you are a keen football/rugby/hockey player.

You can get away without having lots of the "specialist" stuff in my opinion.

"but everyone under about 28 seems to just glance at their phone for the time, rather than a watch, so I wouldn't go and buy him one."

I think that will depend on the school's mobile phone policy. If anyone did that at DD's school they would get a detention.

Biros or the Berol Handwriting fine at both my dcs schools.

Both needed Scientific Calculators from the start

If learning a language, then a French / German / Spanish to English dictionary is useful.

I'd wait and see with the gum shield / shin pads - in both my dcs' schools they rotate sports and only need things for a few weeks before they are on to the next sport

Wouldn't go for a ring binder - they are too bulky for their bags, but the plastic popper ones can be useful if you have a dd, my ds never grasped the concept of putting paper in his.

They will be given a 'Planner' to help organise themselves. Make Encourage them to get it out each day when they get home and it should say what homework is expected and what lessons they have for the next day.

Never needed any sticky back plastic for either of my dcs.

No problem with wearing a watch, but everyone under about 28 seems to just glance at their phone for the time, rather than a watch, so I wouldn't go and buy him one.

Find a way of sellotaping a £2 coin into the bottom of bag or inside a pocket somewhere for 'emergencies', and they will lose or forget their money.

Some school websites have things like diary dates and newslaetters on them - you won't get all letters that way, but it will help a bit.

HTH

Sorry, I was checking through essential items with DD and DS1 today. Glue sticks are essential for them, they stick in lots of stuff into exercise books. Also highlighter pens.

We use supermarket water bottles - last time I read up on the cancer scare regarding the bottles it had been disproved.

Woolly tights definitely a no-no.

I was checking through essential items with DD and DS1 today.

Bunbaker - I know the woolly ones are opaque, but what they wear at secondary here are the nylon-y 70 denier ones (in blue) as opposed to the thick knitted-type ones. According to DD1 (and who am I to argue?).

Ours have a free school dinner on first day for Yr 7 so they have time to be fingerprinted.

Woolly tights are opaque, but I don't think many year 7s wear them.

I got DD a basic calculator and found it was a waste of money. They need a scientific calculator even for year 7.

Water bottles - it just isn't cool to have the same brightly coloured re-usable type that they had at primary school. So I just buy cheap six packs of 330ml bottles from the supermarket. I don't re-use those because of the links to cancer risks. I feel guilty about adding to the plastic bottle mountain, but at least I recycle them.

Pens - DD just takes black Bic pens. The cheaper own brand ones don't work as well.

DD's school expects parents to keep up to date by looking at their website regularly. They also email parents with newsletters, but will only text if it is urgent like a last minute closure as there is a cost element to texting and email is free.

Yep-one whole year here and no sticky backed plastic either.

Oh, and the water bottle like he used to take to Middle School lasted about a week. I don't know whether it's just DS but he didn't want to take one any more.

Uberly We joked about the fingerprint thing that it was probably for the local police too-for the future.

Well, I clearly got off lightly. DS has just finished Y7 and at no point during the year was sticky back plastic required. Thank goodness!

Schoolbags - it's been said before, but send them to school in the first week or so of Y7 with any old bag, and let them choose one once they know what style of schoolbag is "in". This particularly applies to girls. Otherwise you risk wasting money on a bag that is "so uncool, mum, no-one has them".

Luckily DS has been happy with a plain backpack.

Another thing - tights. DD1 (starting Y7 in September) has worn those woolly-type tights throughout primary, but I have been informed by her in no uncertain terms that opaque tights and only opaque tights will be acceptable for secondary. I hope I kept the receipt....

our school hands out the canteen cards on day 1, but they have topping up machines for the students to use (as well as parents topping up). Neither of mine use the canteen, occasionally get a cookie or muffin for the snack bar, but reckon the canteen queues are too long and by the time you get to the counter there's nothing nice left. I'd send in sandwiches till he works out whether the canteen is OK and what all his mates are doing.

yes, yes yes to sticky backed plastic - most of the first lots of Y7 homework were "decorate your books with relevant pictures and cover with plastic". Ad yes yes yes to lots of paper and printer ink.

Pens, our school is fussier in Y7 (but only so far as "no gel pens"), but individual teachers specify if they feel like it are a bit anal. So a pack of cheap biros or whatever till he finds out what his particular set of teachers want.

I bough shin pads for DD1 who wore them precisely never, they got lost in her bedroom many years ago, and DD2 has never needed them at school (they're not big fans of contact sports at school). A boiling gum shield should be OK unless he's in a team and needs something particular.

Don't expect a great deal by way of communication from the school, it's really not like primary at all which can be very disconcerting for parents, ad it's expected that the students will sort stuff out for themselves. However, our school website is really good, and i make a habit of checking the school calendar every day just before DD2 leaves for school, so I can remind her that such and such is happening next week, and has she had the letter about it.

One of the other things that took a bit of getting used to was how detached I felt. At First and Middle School I knew the secretary for a chat, most of the teachers etc. If DS lost something I would go in and have a rummage through Lost Property etc.

Now i never set foot in the High School. There is no need. I will get to meet his teachers at some point no doubt. But I have to rely on DS to tell me stuff (no school gate chat). Or check the school website. A lot.

It's so much easier tiggy. There was no card at DS's school it was fingerprints. Sorry I forgot that, we would have had to put money on the account and he would use his fingerprint to buy stuff.

He's moved schools were I believe it's all cash, but he still takes sandwiches. The biggest shock was they can have whatever they like in their lunchbox. Pop, chocolate whatever. Just no sports drinks.

I think they sorted out the fingerprints on transfer day in the July before he started tiggy and we were told how to put cash on the card.
He never had a hot dinner though-he said the queues were horrendous and it was easier to take sandwiches.

Yes that is very useful Mamabear.

My Ds is akin to Mr Bean on the organizational front so it will be a learning curve for us all.

Still need to buy everything but the Kitchen sink. Have only bought the two lots of Sports Kit - minus Rugby/football boots. Sigh. And have to sort out IGO photo.
Stressed just thinking about it

DS has one of those files with poppers to put all the random sheets in-works well and I actually get letters/forms to sign.

I'm Head of Year in a middle school (year 6-9) and I would suggest based on the equipment list that you can get which ever pens your son prefers in blue or black ink. Sticky back plastic is always good for covering books. If your son is going to have a packed lunch and drink in his bag then a zip lock plastic folder is a good idea for storing exercise books in. That way if his drink leaks his work will be safe! We allow watches but not mobile phones. However, I would suggest not buying an expensive one as it will need to be removed for PE and could get lost.

One of the other tips I always give the parents of new starters is to take a copy of your childs timetable and homework timetable at the beginning of the year and stick it somewhere where you and your child can see it. At the end of each day look at the timetables with your child check what lessons your they have got and get them into a routine of packing only the things that they need for the next day. We have so many pupils coming to school with huge rucksacks filled with everything they need for the week and more. They struggle to carry it and things seem to get lost very quickly because they cant remember where things are. Plus, it really helps the child if they can learn at home how to be organised for the following day. It stops any anxiety about forgetting homework and worry about getting into trouble. x

Erm, yes, looking at a mobile for the time in most of our local schools would mean an instant confiscation (including the one I work in and the one my ds is going to)!

Buy what it says on the list and the school can't complain.
I would get a watch though (especially if there's a bus to catch). Not all schools allow mobiles and looking at one for the time in a lesson could cause trouble!