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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Year 7 out of school activities

40 replies

lisson · 23/04/2013 12:40

Ds is in year 6 at primary right now so he is due to move up to secondary school in September. He does a few after school things (Sunday league football team, scouts etc) which mean that he really only gets 1 night off a week. Fitting in the homework at primary school hasn't been a problem.

I don't know if its a coincidence or not but recently the football coach etc have each asked me to commit to next year. I've asked him if he'd like to give something up but he doesn't want to. However, a couple of other mums who already have a child at secondary say that the most year 7 children can fit in is one extra curricular activity.

I need to make some decisions because its not fair to say he will continue and then drop out. So, MN jury what do you think?!

OP posts:

Bonsoir · 25/04/2013 21:40

Where we live no special new activities start on Y7 - I just hope DD will find time to keep up her art / music / theatre etc when the time comes. For now (Y4) we try to keep to one big new thing a year - this year it was music theory and piano, next year will be Spanish.

pointythings · 25/04/2013 21:40

The other reason I'm happy DD1 is so involved in after school activities is that secondary age is when a lot of girls particularly get turned off sport. DD doesn't like PE much (unless she is doing netball, basketball or other stuff involving competition) but she really loves training with her team and playing the fixtures. I want her to continue to be physically active and enjoy it.

teacherwith2kids · 25/04/2013 22:04

Bonsoir - so the secondary school has no clubs etc that are not offered at primary? How sad.

DS plays table tennis (daily in school, at a school club and outside school), does archery and plays in the school orchestra, as well as his usual diet of team sports, music lessons and county jazz. The first 3 were not available in his primary, but are things he has chosen to take up at secondary and has been able to pursue to a high level.

BackforGood · 25/04/2013 23:51

Neither of my 2 older ones had anywhere near an hour a night in Yr7. It's unusual to get something that has to be done by the next day either, so plenty of room for managing time if they want to do the activities.
My dc are home by 4 (except on nights if they stay to something after school) so that gives plenty of hours to do homework, to eat, to go out to things, and to just chill.
Some people are "do-ers" or "joiners" and thrive on having lots to do, others aren't. Some children need more sleep than others. Some children fret and worry about homework more than others (dd1 and her longstanding friend, both pretty capable girls moved up to same secondary school together, and whenever I saw her Mum in the Jnr school playground - waiting for siblings - in the first year, she'd say about how much homework her dd was doing and how the French {or insert maths or English or Geography or whatever} last night had taken over an hour, but my dd never took more than 20mins and is doing fine.) Some schools put more emphasis on homework. Some children just get on with it (dd1) some children faff around spending hours on homework avoiding tasks (ds).

Startail · 26/04/2013 00:10

DD2 has done 3 and is dropping Scouts not due to HW, but because she keeps having to miss Scout stuff on Saturday as it clashes with ballet.

DD1 (Y10) does 3, but all are relatively flexible, she's been known to go to rangers over the web.

She's not one to make a meal out of HW, she does what's needed to an acceptable standard. Perfectionism and dyslexia don't mix, except on an external exam paper. (Both she and I spend our lives training our teachers to accept just because we haven't written millions of words doesn't mean we don't understand).

Bonsoir · 26/04/2013 07:01

I don't think it's sad that DC can start extra-curricular activities much younger than 11, no!

wordfactory · 26/04/2013 07:50

I think the difference is Bonsoir has to access extra stuff outside school, so adding those in at year 7 might be too much. But for most of us in the UK, secondary schools offer lots of new and exciting activities within school (lunch clubs, after school clubs) and its a fabulous opportunity to widen horizons, get to know the school better, make new friends (highly important in year7) etc and none of it involves parents! Win win!

seeker · 26/04/2013 08:20

And for some of us,(like me) the out of school activities are essential for providing a broad education. Or what some of us (like me) think of as a broad education!

BackforGood · 26/04/2013 08:23

Like Seeker I think it's really valuable that my dc do things that are in no way connected with school, and therefore have friends from across the City (indeed, Country, and World, in ds's case) that they've met through Scouts, etc.

Ragwort · 26/04/2013 08:24

Totally depends on the school and the child. My Y7 son does lots of after school activities, Scouts/Sports/Youth Club etc, only has one 'free' evening a week. He seems to get very little homework despite our complaint to the school. Agree with seeker out of school activities are essential for meeting new friends, team spirit, new experiences, getting along with adults etc etc

Bonsoir · 26/04/2013 08:26

I'm actually pretty happy that DD can start Spanish (at school, 4x 30 mins per week with native speakers taught direct method) in Y5 and Debate Club (3 hours on Wednesday morning in English ) in Y6 and not wait until Y7 when she will need to get to grips with much more independence. There is no comparison between the horizon broadening opportunities at her school and any school I have ever come across in the UK Her school wins hands down!

needanewnickname · 26/04/2013 11:38

On the wider issue of the OP being asked to commit her son to continuing with activities in Yr7, I think it is perfectly reasonable to say, "Yes we do plan to continue, but as the move up to secondary school will be a big change we cannot give an absolute guarantee that we'll continue. We'll need to play things by ear a bit."

MMollyMum2 · 27/04/2013 15:23

My niece started secondary school in september, and does and always did far more than 6.5 hours of clubs. In total we reckon she does about (with getting ready etc) 15-16 hours of clubs a week. ( sport and music) She was when she started secondary school, and managed perfectly well, with time to do homework and see friends. they do get quite a lot of homework, and sometimes it catches up on her, but normally she can get it done. orgonisation is the key, and doing it when it's given, but she manages fine and they get her to bed by half 9 every night with half an hour of winding down time before. She is a very quick writer though, and finds school work relativly easy. If your ds is good academically, he should be absoultly fine in year 7.

Areyoumadorisitme · 27/04/2013 16:03

I would be surprised if my yr7 DS does more than two hours homework a week, usually less.
I'd like some more to be honest but they started them off with loads for the first month then really slackened off.
I think out of school activities are really important and wish DS did more, he just does scouts and cricket.

Picturesinthefirelight · 27/04/2013 16:13

Dd is due to go to a selective secondary in September

She currently has activities 6 days a week out of school ( mostly related) plus she has piano lessons at school and has to practice

Mondays is 45 mins dance
Tuesdays is 2 and a half hours dance
Thursdays is half an hour dance
Friday is 3 hours drama, singing, dance
Saturday is 1 hour dance group rehears
Sundays is anything from 2-6 hours show rehearsal

She won't be giving anything up.

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