When did leaving primary school become such a big thing?

i left primary school in 1987. There was a transition day. People signed autograph books on the last day rather than shirts. I don’t remember an assembly with parents there. There was always a whole school talent show on the last morning of school and I think that included an item specifically for year 6. Don’t remember a prom/disco.
There were presents for teachers at both Christmas and the end of summer.

90s and we had leaver’s assembly, a present from the primary school (a book), disco, transition days etc

i don’t remember my mum crying but some people’s parents did

nothing new, except the social media part so more people know about it

Ah one of those “why do we do nice things” threads.

My daughter has just finished Y6. It was relatively light touch but she and her friends found it upsetting because a) they love primary school b) secondary school seems so daunting for them c) they know they won’t see many of their friends at their new school.

Teachers (not all!) quite like their classes and want to say goodbye. They’ve seen them grow up and it is amazing when you see how much they’ve grown.

What’s wrong with marking the occasion? Is it the emotion you find difficult? Why is that?

I left primary school in the 90s and we had a leaver's assembly.

But this thread comes up over and over on MN and loads of posters say gifts for teachers were a thing where they were in the 80s and 90s. I gave my teacher a gift in the summer every year. Some children did, some didn't. That's exactly the same now.

There is some research that says over emphasising transitions can worsen the experience for children.

this is a summary of lots of papers and is interesting: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01482/full

Everything seems OTT these days... The cards and gifts for teachers was never a thing when I was at school. Same with Christmas Eve boxes, baby showers (sorry)... I don't know how people afford it tbh, especially with the cost of living! yep, I am great fun at parties

We do a leavers assembly here and a party (during school time) on the last day, I think it's enough. Transition days are great though it's really good that they are now standard, they're nothing too over the top- someone comes to speak to the children at school and then they do a day there and have a tour and meet some teachers and other staff etc- a lot of the children who were nervous about it found it helped.

I do agree there's a trend to go overboard now which can be counter productive, social media is a big driver in my opinion. Not sure when some parents starting dressing up in "hilarious" costumes to collect them on the last day but it's so cringe and of course taking tonnes of photos which will no doubt be posted online.

90s... special ceremony and disco (with Yr 5 as the school mixed year groups) . Shirt signing.

Probably when we started acknowledging that it is a pretty big deal for the children. It's a rite of passage and I think it's good to close that chapter. Yesterday my youngest child left primary school, and as a family we ended our association with our fantastic, community focused school that we have had a child at for the past 15 years. So yes, I hold my hand up to feeling emotional. And transition days are good for children's confidence, I think they're a great idea. One of my DC had to make the move in 2020 and it was much more difficult for him with no transition activities.

I didn’t have anything either OP. We only signed shirts when we left secondary school! No prom, disco (thank God).

Your experience is highly unusual. Leavers assemblies have always been a thing in primary and they're quite emotional! No shame in saying that. The prom etc that some primaries are now doing takes it over the top imo but a leavers assembly and a hoodie is lovely.

I think a lot of the current generation of parents have very difficult experiences of secondary school themselves. Mine aren't even at that stage and I'm already dreading them having to leave primary. I think a lot of us are traumatized.

I left primary mid 90s and other than signing shirts nothing special happened. All seems a bit ott if you ask me😂

We had a leavers disco in the 80s. Including a leavers assembly.