Anyone else excited about their childs move to Secondary school ?

[Sleepydog]

This may sound daft - I am really excited for my DS about his transfer to secondary school - he had a great induction day despite not many from his primary school going on to this school.

He seems really enthused about it all and I am really pleased he feels this way and genuinely excited for him about this new stage in his life - but no doubt will be out of my mind with worry in his first day and him then being a small fish in a big pond .

He has been to a fantastic primary school but I now see that he is ready to move on although I will feel sad about the end of an era.

I feel the same about my daughter's move to secondary. She had her induction day yesterday and is super excited about starting at secondary now. I sat here worrying yesterday that the induction day would go well for her, thankfully it all went well and she had a great day :)

Our primary have had an excellent strategy for assisting their Y6's towards a joyful, 'can't wait' attitude towards secondary. They've made Y6 one long SATS slog, imposed more and more petty and unfairly enforced rules that always favour 'a younger child' over a Y6, they've ensured that all the rules, awards and privileges are designed with a conscientious Y3 girl in mind, they've made lessons dull and repetitive; now they've more or less abandoned the Y6 DC to 4 weeks of unguided, unfocused 'playtime', post SATS.....

They can't wait for secondary.

My ds can't wait. I'm apprehensive!

My DS is so fed up with the petty rules in Primary school. The whole year has been a boring waste of time, with SATS drilled into the poor kids. He did have a wobble but is now very excited about moving up to Secondary.

Personally, I cannot wait to be away from the horrible, gossipy mothers at the school gates. I was never in the 'in-crowd' but watched the appalling behaviour from afar.

Well,if he's fed up with the petty rules at Primary school, he may very well be going to find secondary school an unpleasant shock............

DS1 has been at Secondary for a year. At first I felt quite detached. No popping into school to have a rummage through lost property, chat to the secretary who knew who you were and who your child was.

They suddenly have a bajillion teachers and you have never met them!

Unless your DC like to tell you anything you won't know a thing, as you don't see the school gate Mums any more.

It's not awful, but it's quite a shock.

Mm.. my experience of 'petty rules' has been considerably worse at the primary than at secondary, seeker! I guess it all depends on the school(s) and the perspective of the DC and oneself. DS1 has found the secondary rules to be quite fair and reasonable, by and large; whereas my quiet, well behaved DS2 has, along with the vast majority of other older DSs in particular, found the rules in the primary he's been at since Y4 (and having come from a Junior, ie Y3-6, where the rules were appropriately written to meet the needs of 'older' primary schoolers) silly, restrictive and completely based on the concept that 'younger is right'. All the boys were banned from playing football during their 'turn' on the astroturf pitch because a Y2 girl ran into the middle of the game and was bowled over. One dinner lady 'went off' on one about nasty boys, ban was immediately enforced- (BUT was immediately rescinded due to a completely unforeseen 'uprising' by us parents!- which in itself tells me they're knee-jerking their rules rather than having a cool, calm rationale that everyone can understand attached to them). This is but one example, others in regard to the infantalisation of the DC is that they sing 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' more or less daily in assembly (and 'react' when the Y6's make faces). I mean, at DS2's age (11), I was at my GS being challenged with 3 part harmonies in assembly!)...It is a very MC school so it's absolutely not one that has to rule with an iron rod to keep anti-social 'elements' under control.

Roll on secondary with its rules designed to ensure everyone respects everyone else, their safety and their property.

One of the rules DS1 very much likes at Secondary is that he can have whatever he wants in his packed lunch.

Yep, that's the sort of thing I mean! I am not suggesting that the 'no nuts' etc rule in primary is 'petty' at all; but no chocolate, no crisps, only water to drink, having DS2 bring a cereal based muesli bar home uneaten because he was terrified it'd be spied by a dinner lady, etc.

Yes, yes, yes, encourage 'healthy eating' but enforcing rules about it to 11 year olds, complete with punishments? No.

DS1 has a chocolate bar every day Litten. Don't tell anyone. Today's was a biscuit Boost.

Oh, and major excitement over having a locker.

Enjoy your excitement.

The pitfalls are many and varied - although I have a DD at an all girls school (otherwise known as a nest of vipers)

Um yes that is true Exit. DS1 is not at the Secondary school that he started off at in September.

It's more their excitement, though, isn't it? I certainly don't have stars in my eyes about secondary- I do have a 13 year old in one! But I can't help but feel that DS2 will rise up to the challenges delivered to him in this new, more grown up environment after the veritable kindergarten of Y6!

It's really odd here. Secondary in Year 8 after Middle School.

The 3 tier system! I think it's great. I wish we had it here. It better matches with a DC's developmental stage when compared to a 2 tier systems, where DCs like my DS2 find themselves a good 2 years from puberty in a school with adults, really!

I was on a thread on MN about it not that long ago, but it rapidly degenerated into covert 'DM' paedo hunting when it was suggested that the playground needs of a 4 year old girls might not be the same as those of an 11 yr old boy... Personally I don't think the best needs of either DC is as well served as they could be if the 4 year old's oldest playground encounter was with a 8 year old; an 8 year old's with a 12 year old's, and a 12 year old's with a 16 or 18 year old, but there you go. As I mentioned, we had a sort of encounter with better age setting (leading to more appropriate rules) as the DS's were in an Infant (R-2) and then Junior school (Y3-6).

I had never thought of it like that Litten. Middle school has been really good though, DS2 currently in Year 5, and it seems quite grown up.

At DS1's Secondary they have vertical tutoring which I really like.

Vertical tutoring is also a very good idea.

I must move to be in your catchment (though I moved into this as the local comp is allegedly the best performing in the county !). We knew the primary was 'workmanlike' and a little pedestrian but it really is rather beige, iyswim. The DSs are at last in their catchmented school(s) which was a big aim so we were prepared to accept that this primary, though far more MC than their previous Junior, is duller and less inspirational but I wasn't expecting the Rules to be quite so perverse and toddler-centric!

LittenTree what you say strikes a chord. Both of my boys felt a huge liberation from the pettiness of primary school.
The primary was a small village one and the old head was an old school very un- pc dodderer who didn't wrap them in cotton wool. He was replaced by a new ambitious young woman who immediately turned it into a babyish prison (according to my DS). No more football, no dodge ball, no running, no Fun. They were not even allowed to walk up the steps to the front door, had to use the ramp.
While there are structures and rules at secondary school they are also respected more and treated in much more an adult way.

DS is VERY excited about secondary - he has been ready all year to move on and can't wait for the greater range and level of sports! He is also looking forward to being more responsible for himself and having more freedom.

I was excited when his sister went 2 years ago, but am now dreading the mornings when they will both be trying to use the bathroom at the same time and the first-term acclimatisation to masses of homework after nothing for months since the bloody SATs....

In middle school Year 6 is just the middle year when they happen to do the SATS so they just go into the next year as normal, with High school a year later.

That probably works quite well - they are ready for a different system/approach when they get to about 10. And Y8 is notorious for a dip in behaviour, etc.

I think it does. And Year 7 is spent getting them ready for High School without the SATS pressure of the year before.

I didn't know about the Year 8 behaviour thing.

Well, it's a common problem amongst my friends
I think Y9 can be pretty bad too!

oh feel a bit deflated now .