Anyone else's dc thriving at secondary school when compared to primary?

[Notcontent]

My dd was reasonably happy at primary school, but I think secondary school suits her better. One of the main things that I think works better for her is having different teachers for different subjects. Dd is a bright but slightly quirky child (possible asd) and at primary she would have a really good year with teachers who liked her and "got" her iyswim but not such great years with other teachers who clearly didn't really like her. At primary there also seemed to be lot of time not doing very much, while at secondary school she is constantly doing new and interesting stuff.

Has anyone else's dc had the same experience?

Yep my daughter hated primary. Now she's blossomed at high school

I could have written this post about my ds!
He was always in trouble at primary school, usually for being silly, but now he's realised that he was probably just bored. He is slap bang in the middle of sets (set 3 of 5) so it's not that he wasn't challenged or that he found it hard but he said secondary is so much better. He likes that if it's a lesson he's not too keen on then it's 1 hour and he can move on. He likes the regular moving around and different teachers etc. He hated that lessons would go on at primary until the teacher said so, like maths would last the whole morning and he never knew where he stood.
It's funny you mentioned asd as I've always thought my ds could be on the spectrum, but never had any back up from primary.
I'm pleased your dd is flourishing now too.

Wishitook - yes, the thing about knowing a lesson would be over at a certain time is part of it too!

Definitely my youngest was or seemed to struggle a bit in primary but this first year in secondary she has come on so much.

Yes. The cool ones looked down on dd1 at primary and weren't that nice to her. She was quiet and felt unpopular.
Moved to a big comp (just finished year 9) and the two or three friends she had at primary has multiplied to a big group of about 15. They are lovely drama free kids. She is accepted by her class and the cool ones are far too busy having dramas with other cool ones to bother her.
Her teachers seem to like her and she's thriving, seems happy and doing well. I wasn't sorry not to have to see some of the primary parents any more either!

Yes. DS and his y6 teacher clashed and it held him back. He has loved moving to secondary and having a variety of teachers, some he prefers over others. But as previous posters have said, he knows that teachers he doesn’t like he only has to spend an hour with them. Quite surprised how much teacher like ability makes a difference to my DS (twins), I try and ram home that enjoyment of subject should be based on lesson content but no, purely down to teachers.

My eldest flew as soon as he hit secondary.

Really flourished in the more competitive atmosphere (top set, being pushed) , and found a bit of mouthy confidence (while still being well behaved).

I think they are a bit pot bound by the end pf primary.

My quirky DS (with high functioning autism) has also flourished at secondary. I think at primary they saw his SN first, and didn't really recognise his abilities. Since going into year 7 at a comp (and being in the top set for everything), he's really risen to the challenge of being pushed more and actually seems to enjoy the stricter rules and higher expectations.

My dd certainly has
She was ok at Primary but the emphasis was always on effort rather than attainment and in fact the very high achievers were largely ignored, all end of year awards were around effort and good citizenship ( which actually went to a boy threatened with exclusion a few weeks before). There was also some low level bullying around being a “swot”
At Secondary she loves having other really smart kids to compete with and she also enjoys the depth of subject knowledge she gets - she loves the 3 sciences and they weren’t taught much at Primary.
The school she is at is quite strict and structured which might not suit all kids ( don’t know how DS will fare when he goes) but it’s what dd thrives on

Yup. DS was a quiet nervous intellectual at primary who didn't understand the children around him and teachers nodded towards his ability while encouraging him to stay quiet while praising those who struggled or those who achieved in sport. At secondary he is well liked by his teachers (mostly) and has a group of friends who understand him and who he understands. His voice is heard and he has intellectual as well as sporting peers.

I am slightly nervous for DD who starts in September but hoping for a similar blossoming / finding of feet.

I don’t think the state primary school really established what my DD could do. No MFL for example. Science was poor. Not great teaching and a terribly old fashioned Head made it like treading water for a switched on child who wanted more. Secondary boarding gave her everything. She never looked back.

Hope so, op. DD Just heading for Y7.

YES.
DD did well at primary; blossomed & thrived in secondary.
DS was nightmare in primary, even got excluded. "mature and polite" in secondary school reports.

Yes. DS was ok in primary but had some break time behaviour issues ( too small a pond and stuck with the same boys - not his type - for years on end) and struggled with maths because the teaching wasn't great.
He's just finished year 7 in a school where he knew no-one when he started. His end of year report would make any parent proud and mentions how he's matured over the year, knows what he needs to do to do well, has loads of friends, has thrown himself into the life of the school, has been recognised for his efforts etc.
His school is fantastic and has recognised and is nurturing his particular personality and strengths, which in turn has meant that DS has wanted to work hard and achieve.
We're excited to see how he grows in year 8.

Yes, my DD is now 20 and at uni.
Primary was not good, behaviour-wise and socially. She was assessed for SEN (we still think possibly some kind of high functioning autism, esp as her dad has just been diagnosed) and she had speech delay.

Secondary was much much better, she found her people and did well academically. Just finished second year at uni in a very male dominated field (3 of 85 students are women) - not sure if that is relevant, but she's never been one to follow the crowd.

Yes definitely!

Education wise- totally blossomed, an able child who wasn't pushed until year 6 " he seems happy enough!". Secondary school has allowed him to push forward and opened up more interests

Friendship wise- DS has the loveliest group of friends now

All of this has had a major impact on his overall behaviour

Yep. My 'nice little girl' DD nearly sank without a trace at Primary. School didn't really believe in dyslexia (anyone can get a diagnosis if they pay I was told...). She was constantly sat beside the badly behaved boys to be a good influence and to hell with the impact on her learning.

At secondary, after Dyslexia diagnosis, and support and eye sight issues identified and sorted she's thriving. I hate to think of what would have happened if I'd listened to her primary school.

Yes - my DD (no additional needs) has flourished at her comp.

I've long thought that it's a bad idea to have the same teacher for every subject at primary. Wish they had specialist maths/science teachers for instance. And the TAs at DD's primary struggled to understand phonics and maths let alone teach them!

My boy has really found his stride through year 7 and 8 - and that's whilst being in a prep so he is only now changing school. Some of it is maturity, some of it the steadily increasing expectations and breadth of subject matter, or something!