Y7 in Sep 2019 - support

I’ve also got twins starting in September. Both are really looking forward to it. It’s an inner city school in a deprived area and they have a programme for academic high achievers which they’ve both been accepted onto.
DS desperate to make friends, he struggled socially in primary. DD looking forward to learning new things. Uniforms and equipment all bought except for shoes.
School is in walking distance of home. The general mood is one of excitement all round!

Nice thread! DS is looking forward to and ready for Y7, but slightly worried as he is the only boy in his school going there.

He is quite sociable, so hopeful he will be ok and others will be in the same boat. Tbh, I just want it to start!

Still got underwear, shoes, jumper and school coat to buy. Will wrap it up early August.

Three days of transition end of Aug and meeting form and tutor on the fourth day.

Zip card sorted and teaching him not to sit in an empty carriage until he has friends to sit with and is more confident in taking the train by himself.

Mobile phone safety and just general safety tips ie no taking short cuts to get home quicker.

I’ve got twins going up into year 7 in September. Ds seems ok with it all but dd is an absolute wreck. She’s an anxious kid anyway but she’s really struggling at the moment and we’ve had a lot of tears.
It’s a massive school, 12 form intake and there are more kids in year 7 than in her entire primary school. Over 40 kids from her school are going there but she hasn’t been put in a class with her closest friends. She’s worried about getting lost mainly. It’s not a fantastic school to be honest but unfortunately where we live none of the schools are great so we’ve sent them to the closest school.
I’ve bought most of the uniform, just need shoes for dd and trainers for them both, as well as Astro turf boots for ds. Stressing over what sort of bag to buy dd, most of the girls seem to have massive handbags but they will have a mile and a half to walk every day so I don’t think a handbag will be suitable. There are no lockers either so PE kit will have to fit in their bags 3 days a week.
I’m incredibly apprehensive about it all, didn’t help when another parent (with 2 older children already in the school) mentioned that her son had been threatened with a knife in school. They’ve only just turned 11 and still seem quite childish - I don’t think any of us are ready for this but I’m putting a brave face on for the sake of the kids.

Ours is taking her Drmarten Mary Jane types as she loves them and they’re not battered enough to replace! I don’t think it’s worth getting new shoes now tbh- you may find that a couple of weeks in she likes a type that everyone wears and you could replace them then. Thank goodness our school has compulsory school bag so we haven’t had to look for that. All uniform bought now and ready to go!

DD1 is one of 6 going from her school. Luckily she's in a class with three of them, one who is a pretty good friend. She made friends with one girl during summer school and they've been whatsapping so that's good.

Uniform all bought, need to buy various whiteboard pens, highlighters and all that jazz. Wondering what to do about school shoes. The ones she has are fairly new and still fit fine. She's says they're ok but do they still wear the mary jane style at secondary?

Thank you for this thread. DS will be one of 2 from his primary school and both not in the same class. I am nervous and excited all at the same time, great tips on here.

Sorry pasted too fast and didn’t answer

Anyway we are all having major wobbles and year 7 has been pretty shit on every level

Everyone is going to the same school
Other than him and it’s all rather sad

Is DC (not) looking forward to it.

No .he is the only
One going to his school and is very very sad
As am I

Is DC (not) ready for it.

He is not really ready in any way but it’s a local short walk and
Are you (not) apprehensive about it.
Have you got equipment, etc, sorted yet, or are you leaving it until the summer hols/last minute.
How have the transition days been going.
Anything else that is relevant.

When they first get their timetable, take some copies of it.

(At DD's school they are meant to cut up their timetable and stick it in their planner in the first tutor time. I have taught DDs not to do this until she has brought it home and I've copied it).

Have a copy folded up in their blazer pocket, possibly reinforced with sellotape.
Have a copy pinned upstairs in their room
Have a copy visible somewhere downstairs, eg on fridge or pinboard in the hall.
For the main copy in the hall we have a cardboard arrow pointing to the right week.

Remember, this is an exciting and hopefully enjoyable time. Don't over stress.

I appreciate all the tips as well.

I will try to get some second hand uniform next time, because DS is visibly growing.

I thought we were ready but there are some good tips here. I will jot them down

Just a word of advice to those of you with children going into Y7. I have DDs in Y9 going into Y10, University and a SD in Y9 plus a SS in Y10 going into Y11.

Please, please, please if you have a DC who doesn’t pick up on social cues very well, DD1 was like that, explain to them that they don’t need to report rule breaking if it isn’t actual bullying/concerns them.

What I mean is that if your DC sees older years rolling up their skirts, calling their maths teacher an annoying idiot, swearing, going on their phones etc, they don’t need to to their HOY about it. It’s quite sad but they will get a reputation as a snitch and honestly, it’s just unnecessary for them to do that. Obviously, if your DC sees a boy getting screamed at and told that he is going to get beaten up or someone calls THEM a swear word, then they should tell a teacher 100%.

mum John Lewis do black girls blazers going down to age 3-4.

The school stockists might be able to do you things in a one off special small size, or the school might be happy for you to buy generic and get a logo put on.

My DD2 is small, but not 'really small' (see my comment upthread about many of the y6s being taller than her even though she is y9.)

Anyone else got a really small child moving up to high school? Struggling with blazers for my daughter the sleeves are so long you can't see her hands. She needs a black blazer - any ideas of where to find one with shorter sleeves? Or am I going to have to bite the bullet and get one altered.

I think even the smallest size in the pe jumper is going to be way too big. Not sure what to do about that one.

That's a good tip SnowsinWater. At DD's school they spent their first day doing that - colouring in their timetable and the relevant room on their classroom map in their planner.

Re uniform - it can be very expensive. DD's school skirts are an eye watering £40+ per skirt. I was more annoyed about the jumpers and blouses which are completely plain apart from the school logo on them which means you can't buy them from anywhere but the school stockists. Does the school have a second hand uniform shop? That's a way of getting stuff cheaper.

Another tip from our experience. If they need a padlock for their school locker then go for one with a combination rather than a key. We didn't think this through as DD needed one for her sports locker but then needed to put the key somewhere safe. So we had to go and buy another padlock to make this process a bit easier.

A tip for parents of dyslexic kids on large school campuses, colour code classrooms to timetable.

DS' school goes through from primary to secondary, just different parts of the campus, so we thought he was ok until they changed the bloody classroom names during the holiday. So from sensible things like M1 being maths room one, they were all renamed as places with no logical connection (Kilimanjaro was an art room!). He was panicking about showing up in the wrong place so we printed out a map of the classrooms and his timetable and colour coded it. Took ages but saved his stress levels.

My daughter starts secondary school in September-first form.She was 13 in June so I feel she's ready.

Is DC (not) looking forward to it. - Yes

Is DC (not) ready for it. - yes

Are you (not) apprehensive about it. - nope

Have you got equipment, etc, sorted yet, or are you leaving it until the summer hols/last minute. - what equipment? She has a bag and a pencil case and I've ordered uniform

How have the transition days been going. - lovely

Anything else that is relevant. - encourage DC to swap contact details with new friends made on transition days so they can have contact over the summer.

My y9 was a bit put out today. The school had its going up day, and a number of the soon-to-be y7s are taller than she is!

Elenade The cost is possibly more shocking because you are buying all in one go rather than as and when bits are grown out of. Get things as big as you can without looking ridiculous. DD1's blazer and PE kit lasted 5 years, DD2's might do so too (apart from the fact that first PE shirt went missing 2 weeks into y7 and had to be replaced.)

I have just started ordering the uniform bits and pieces. The cost is just shocking.

Lol! He is the most patient and polite boy ever!
He seems to get bored very quickly though of others his age less intelligent!
I'm sure he'll be fine it's probably me thats over worrying about it!

ESIN

How quickly does the school set, do you know?
Some schools go for mixed ability in most things in y7, though most set for maths quite early.

Do you need to talk to him about tolerance/politeness to those less able & not inadvertently putting them down? It's fine not to be friends, but less fine to be outwardly irritated/scathing of less insightful questions.

Thank you so much for your reply!
Yes, I think I'm more concerned than he is!
I'm hoping because he is in the top classes he will mix with kids the same intelligence as himself, as he is a nightmare for getting bored of kids too quickly due to lack of intelligence! (Sigh!) Lol!

ESIN It seems to me that bullying is stamped on pretty hard by most schools if it happens and is reported to them, so try not to worry. The chances are your DS will be absolutely fine, he will 'find his own tribe' and have his own friends.

I don't think self defence should be needed (unless he is going to a school known for lots of trouble). Encourage him to walk around confidently, and discuss with him what to do if he or a friend are being picked on. First ports of call should usually be tutor, pastoral care, or any other adult or prefect nearby.

My DD, going into y10 in Sept, is a 'peer supporter' (special badge and everything ). These are tasked with keeping an eye out for the y7s in the first few weeks. They were overwhelmed with applications - most kids are nice kids who look out for younger ones.