I went to Year 7 induction day and I am now scared

[minesawine]

My DS goes to a small primary and is starting a large 12 form intake secondary school in September. It was my first choice and is a great school, but I after attending the parent induction yesterday, everything seems real and quite scary.

They were saying that they give quite a lot of homework and that he must manage his homework timetable himself and take responsibility for what is given in on which day. His primary does not give any homework, and I think I will need to work with him to make sure it is done, corrected and given in on time. I think he will be quite shocked by the amount he gets and his lack of freedom.

I am worried about him making new friends as the school mixes the children from primary schools up and he will probably not be with his primary friends. He is quite shy, although very friendly and popular.

He has always been in top groups for everything and the new school said they have 7 sets per subject and he may not be in the top group anymore. I think this will upset him as he is quite proud of being in the top group.

Etc etc.......

There were so many small things that I thought "oh dear! how will he cope" I am probably being really stupid, but from being really excited about his move to secondary school, I am now feeling a bit nervous, which I am hiding from him because I dont want my issues to affect him at all.

Is this normal or am I being really stupid?

Dd started last September and it is a culture shock, we've had to do quite a lot to help her - bought a desk, a set of trays which she labelled to keep her books in the right place, endless stationery, a notice board to pin notices, timetables, routines, checklists etc. on, a watch so she goes to lessons on time after break/lunch. We also go through her homework with her to help her plan and prioritise which to do first.

We also went through a What to do if...scenario.
We bought her a mobile phone with automated credit (she's trustworthy) so in emergency she can ring us (she has to take 2 buses to school).
These are all skills which take time to learn and develop.

Hopefully, next year she'll do most of them without too much reminding!

Thanks for the great advice everyone. My DS has his induction day coming up and is beyond excited. He does not have to start until 9am and has already told me that he does not want me to stand with him until the gates open. My baby is growing up already! What was I worrying about??