Join in here if your PFB is off to secondary school in September or if you have any advice for thew newbies

[ChippyMinton]

DS is obviously taking it all in his stride and I am quietly fretting investigating the practicalities of high school life. Anyone want to join me?

Hello all , my one and only precious DD starts yr7 in September. She'll be one of the first cohorts in the school as it is a new school that is opening. We are both very excited if a little apprehensive about it all. DD wants out of yr6 now...lol

My DS1 is off to Secondary school in September.

Iam excited for him and pleased that he is looking very much forward to starting. However I feel very down and tearful that Im "losing" him if anyone sees what I mean?

I have been told by so many different friends who have older children that it is when they start Secondary that they really begin to grow up and grow away from you as their friends take preference over their parents. I know this is the way it is meant to be but I cant help feeling sad about it.

I think Im doing a good job of hiding how I feel as the last thing I would want is for him to feel anxious or nervous about this next stage in his life.

I wish I could keep him at this age forever as at the moment he is still my little boy

In with you there - feeling very emotional about it all tbh. Was feeling excited and overwhelmingly happy about DD moving onto the next chapter of her life. Now I just feel a bit I want to keep her as my 11 year forever!

Probably my hormones!

my top tips are:

1. Copy of timetable on fridge door or where-ever. I need to know when they have food tech so we don't have to do the last minutes running round for ingredients.
2. Spare money, DS school has the cashless system for dinners. I can put a tenner on via the internet and it goes into his account quite quickly so if he has forgotten his lunch and rings me on his way to school. It's on his account by the time he gets there. They need spare emergency money though.
3. Put all relevant phone numbers in their phones including local taxi company and school.
4. Get them into the routine of come home and do homework on the same night. Any bigger projects are done over the weekend.
5. PE kits - DS keeps his in his locker and brings it home when people complain of the smell !!
6. If picking them up / dropping them off, then arrange a meeting place a little further away so they can walk a little bit.
7. Spare key with a neighbour or hidden somewhere.
8. Don't shield them from not doing their homework etc, let them get on with it and understand the consequences if they don't or not to a good standard.

Thanks tigertwist-it's good to know I'm not the only one feeling like this.

Thanks for the tips headlesslambrini, I'm sure they will come in very handy

Well, dd is off to secondary tomorrow and there for the next 5 weeks, so hopefully it will all go well & make september less of a big jump.

She's not impressed though after a week of blazing sun half term down the beach and good weather set to continue, and I can see her point

Thats very unusual, where do you live Takver?

Dds 1 and 2 have now both left high school and baby Ds goes in August! We are out of the catchment area so he will have to get the service bus there and back, but his sisters managed it and I'm sure he will too.
My experiences are to invest in a good quality schoolbag/backpack as they have to carry loads and get kicked around. Don't leave homework until the day it is due in,have spare P.E. kit because you WILL need it, and start a jar of two pound coins for home economics, dress down days, bus fares etc. Expect some changes in behaviour as they try to copy the big kids and "fit in". For girls make sure they have sanitary towels secreted in their schoolbags somewhere, along with a couple of paracetamol if they need it.
Try not to get worked up - they will actually survive!

We're in Wales, NotEnoughTime - its not standard though, its a specific 5 week transition programme for one group that dd's new school have funding to run. I know a few other dc who have been on it in previous years, and it sounds like it has been a really positive thing for them.

That sounds like a really good idea Takver.

I hope it all goes well for your dd (and for you too)

Well, first day went well! Fingers crossed it continues the same way :)

Well, still no information at all from dd's school. The Yr7 head has visited the Yr6s at school, but we've had nothing aimed at parents. I phoned the school and asked if they would be sending an information pack out, and the lady I was speaking to sounded very surprised and said "but you've got the term dates, haven't you?".

They're just switching to a new uniform and they have to wear black trousers with a little logo on the side seam. The smallest size is 11-12. Dd is wearing 8-9 with the adjustable waist pulled in loads, so that's not going to work. The school receptionist didn't seem to know what I should do about that, either.

This is going to be so much fun ...

DS2 went for his first transition visit yesterday afternoon. He seemed to enjoy himself.

What you should do, Bertha, is stick her in the over-large trousers and take comical photos.
That's what my parents did to me in my 'one size will see you through to 6th form' blazer, anyhow.

I've just ordered some uniform on M&S special offer - blazer, trousers, shirts. I have the same concerns about sizing as Bertha, and don't have faith that the official supplier will have small sizes.

Taster day is at the start of July, and I've booked the day off work so I can 'shadow' DS and his friend as they travel on the public bus wearing shades and a floppy hat. We'll see how clueless they are, or not.

That'll be me in the shades and floppy hat, not the boys, obviously

Lol at tailing them on the bus.

I tracked down someone from the school uniform suppliers, who said they'll be embroidering the logo on the trousers to order, and therefore I can have any size I like - hooray! (am scarred by memories of starting school with an ankle-length skirt and finishing in a mini-skirt).

We now have a date for intake day, and parents are invited to come for a talk at the end - which is nice, at least we're going to be told some things, maybe. What isn't so nice is that the talk is at 3pm. In a town 15 minutes drive away. And Primary school finishes at 3:15. And ds2 has SN and there aren't many people I can ask to pick him up. Sigh. I've had a whole lovely two years of having all 3 of them in the same place, I've obviously got spoilt!

STILL nothing from the boys school.

Uniform shop today for DD: £143.
That didn't include swimsuit (£9), tights, white PE socks, footwear (up to 3 prs of shoes), shin guards, trousers, tie(£5.50 each) or PE kit bag (£4)

Did include
1 blazer (£34)
2 jumpers
4 white blouses
1 school skirt
(PE)
1 blue shorts
1 pr skorts (advised essential?, £17 !)
1 pr long socks
1 white polo
1 PE jumper

So £9/item aside from blazer. Have I been a mug? The nice part is that it was like a personalised shopping experience because shop was quiet, and it is primary supplier for the school so knows what they expect well. She'll swap items in August if they turn out to be wrong size.

We just got the parent pack through this morning - details of uniform, parent pay account and forms to fill in, as well as an invitation to the induction evening - on an evening I am working! And the sports camp, which is £50.

There is a lot of information in it, it's going to take me a while to get my head round it all, and I will have to beg work for time off for the induction evening.

Buy a really decent rucksack for your DS. DW got ours a fairly good one but within one term it was falling apart so he now has a proper outdoors type rucksack and boy does it weigh him down.....

Done some of the uniform shop at M&S. Still got blazer, school jumper and tie to go from the official shop.

So far:
cheapo Nokia no frills phone PAYG - much to DS's disgust. Good idea to make sure all numbers are pre-programmed on it.
Animal backpack & water bottle
lace up shoes (I vetoed velcro - they have to grow up sometime.)

Was thinking of getting a sort of lanyard to attach oyster card to backpack so it can't be lost. But is that the social equivalent of having your mittens on strings through your coat? DS is capable of forgetting absolutely everything except whatever song is running through his mind.

Going to get home key cut for him - not got his own yet, and hide a spare/give one to next door.

School is in nearest town to our village but still a fair journey. Was thinking of sewing £20 into the blazer lining or into backpack, but not telling him until he rings to say he's missed the train.

The school rugby shirt is more expensive than the blazer!

The smallest size in the blazer is a 29" - DS is going to look like he is wearing his dads jacket.

Mankyscotslass, that's how DS looked in his and still does....(he hasn't really grown much over the past year) - on the positive side, we are now hoping it lasts him until he has to change blazer colour in Year 10....

DS's sports kit part of the uniform easily cost as much as the rest of it - mainly because it is totally exclusive to the school with sewn-on initials....

This time last year was a really money drain with buying stuff for DS going to secondary school whilst still funding the Year 6 end-of-year things too....