Form Groups in Secondary School

I think it must be done differently in different places. My child was put in a form with no-one from her class.

Before DD started secondary, the HoY talked to staff at each feeder, and also met the kids. They were given the opportunity to let him know if there was anyone they wanted to be in the opposite year half to. (However DD ended up in the same class as hers - but possibly the primary staff saw that it was a temporary fallout and said not to worry - and they did indeed end up friends again.) In a larger school, opposite year half rather than just different forms means they won't end up in the same lessons for setted subjects.

I worked under one head who was adamant that kids must stay with their best friends. It was a nightmare when the girls started making new friends and the old best friend was distraught (boys usually just merge friend groups). It's actually easier if they're with people they know but not necessarily their closest friends. They can still keep up the old friendships outside lessons (and will often walk to school together) but without the hurt if they sit next to someone else in lessons.

Putting those who are the only one from their primary together in the same form is a good move.

Any school will try and spread behaviour problems, and will give careful thought to special needs. (The latter may or may not be spread out. I had a tutor group once that was targetted for support - there were several with special needs (but no particular behaviour problems), and they had an LSA with them the whole time. The group was still a good mix of ability overall.)

It's fairly impossible to get it all right. I'm sure DD's school thought they'd balanced the year halves by ability, but they'd actually put practically all the very strongest mathematicians from the largest feeder in the same half.

Hi, does anyone know how forms are made in coop academy north manchester? Thanks

At ours the y7 transition leader visits at least all the main feeder schools. (40 schools fed in this year for 250 spaces, but many of those schools only provided 1 or 2 children).
The y6 teachers are asked to provide a lot of information (I remember DD's teacher complaining last year as the forms came in just before SATs).
They try to place everyone in a tutor group with at least one friend.
They try to spread out children from the same primary.
They try to balance boys and girls.
They try to spread out ability.
They put a lot of effort in!

Agree it is going to depend on the school. Although at both the schools my dc went to, they deliberately shared dc from the same Primary schools out between the forms - so, in dd1's year for example, she told me there were 9 from her (junior) school going to her secondary and they put 2 in each of the 5 forms (well, 3 in one, but you get the gist).
If there were a serious issue, then the secondary school would want to know before they sorted the forms (which would be some time before the 'moving up / visiting' days), but they can't really accommodate all 'pfb' parents.
I'd agree with other posters that they actually seem to form friendships from subject groupings and who they travel with, rather than forms though, whether that is year group forms, or, even more so with vertical grouping.

In our situation one of the deputy heads and another went to primary school and met the children. Primary had an input. We emailed very early on to request dd not put with another child due to bullying but phrased it diplomatically. The response from the school was as it had been an early request they would do their best to accommodate. Which they did. But it is an intake of 360 so they do have some manoeuvre space. Some of the schools round us are a 90 intake so much less chance of requests being able to be accommodated.

Another thing that i always feel for is that child (most feeders have one in the year) who has been labelled the 'naughty' child and we get requests from some parents saying 'we dont want out DC to be in a class with timmy/sarah'.
Often those 'naughty' children actually settle really well at secondary, theyre not big fish because theyre y7 they value the fresh start.
Last lad who came up with endless warnings was lovely and spent most of his time looking after a child with ASD. 'Naughty' lad still had his moments but I really felt for him because you could tell in the first term that some parents were so keen to ring and complain about him for the smallest thing (e.g. danny stood in front of DC in the line outside class and didnt go to the back).

I work in a large state secondary (1200 students) and yes, we get lots of info from primaries.

Not all of it is useful or accurate in my view! however it is certainly used (and shared with staff) to avoid students who don't get on/must be kept apart, being in form together, and also to provide a mix of abilities within the form etc.

The form will broadly stay the same but there is certainly movement - my year 10 form has had two people move to other forms and one person move in; others are probably similar.

OP I think it's reasonable to ask but a others say, it might not be possible for all kinds of reasons. But I would certainly let them know.

Depends. When I did it for my year group many years ago I based it on an even number of boys and girls, a range of ability, ensured that kids the primaries said should be separated were and then tried to make sure they looked balanced. Took into account also their interests and needs. Took HOURS. But I feel I knew them quite well by the time I'd organised it all.
The Head of Year for the year below me got the computer to do it.

At my current school it depends on the language they do.

I think it's fairly random, that seems to work as the local primary schools mix up the children in year 6 so they get to know a wider variety of pupils. In my experience the children pretty much have all new friends by the end of the first half term.

if you are orting 250 students into 10 groups of 25 then there is a limit to the number of parental requests that can be accommodated!

Spread of gender, abiltiy, feeder school, SEN, that is about it.

We probably have a few thousand parental requests a year for different pupils to be separated or but together thoughout all ages and subjects. whether they are taken on board or not depends on many factor, is is possible? is it disruptive? does it contradict other parental requests ( we have many pupils who have so many parents asking for them to be kept away from their individual child that there would be nowhere left for that child to go) has the person who receives the request got any time to act, or are they snowed under with parental requests? does it contradict the schools observation of the situation? is it a long way down on the list?

I'm curious about this too. Dd is in year 8 and her tutor group has worked very well for her. She's integrated much better with her class than she did at primary school. I wondered if it was by accident or design!

The majority of the local secondary schools (locally) will send the HOY 7 round to the primaries of kids going to their secondary to chat to the kids first and then form tutor or KS2 Head.

You are definitely not BU to request your DD is in a different form. But tbh my DS is in yr7 and all of his friends are in his classes rather than form group. He is only with his form group for 20-30 mins a day max.

OP, a quiet work aboit primary bullying (if it hasnt already been passed across) would be more than ok.

When I mentioned earlier about groups not moving much its because some parents spend a lot of tike wanting sets/classes/seating fitting around who gets on with who. And theres new drama every week. Always the same names who cant be sat near people.

Genuine reasons are listened to

Absolutely not unreasonable to make the request. I would. If nothing else, it will make the new school aware of the previous bullying.

In my dd's school they tend to spread out kids coming from the same primary in the different tutor groups. They also make sure the groups are mixed in terms of ability and ethnicity. My impression is that they would try to accommodate a request like yours.

As far as I know you can request certain pupils not be together. I know one of my friends did this with her ds. Different school to ours though.

DC in yr 7, was asked at a meeeti g if there was anyone he particularly did or didn't want to be in a class with

At DSs school the tutor groups are vertical ones for Year 7-11 with about 5 children from each year. They were asked in Year 6 to say children they'd like to be with so the year 7s should know each other. I think it might be better to mix them up a bit but presume it will still be the same when DD starts there.

Oh and yes, each primary sends info and notes etc to the secondary. In our area a teacher visits each primary school to meet pupils. Even if just one pupil is going.

At my dd's school tutor group they seem to have a smattering of pupils from each primary school and a few 'odd' pupils who came on their own.

My dd was one of only 4 to come from her primary. They were put into 2 different tutor groups, 2 and 2. Made no difference to my dd as she barely knew the other girl with her from primary.
In fact I'm glad of the fact now as their is lots of drama within the tutor right now as old primary friendships are breaking down.

Dd was placed in a form with her two best friends and with a tutor they felt best met her needs (ASD) A child who bullied didn't get on with dd was placed in a group in a different house so their paths wouldn't meet. It was y6 teachers who flagged any issues for us