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Secondary education

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

Original poster

Year 7 kids

18 replies

DumbleDork · 07/09/2019 05:46

Are else’s children who have just joined year 7 this week absolutely shattered? My son is going to bed at about 8 and sleeping a whole 12 hours. Before he started seniors he was going to bed around 10 and waking at 6!!

I don’t remember being that tired starting senior school but I guess we’re all different Smile

OP posts:
Doryhunky · 07/09/2019 05:50

Similar here but dd registration is almost an hour before primary and she has an hour commute

UncomfortableSilence · 07/09/2019 05:52

I work in a secondary school, non teaching, the first week back is exhausting, I'm on my knees Grin

They have so much to take in this week it's complete overload add in nerves and excitement and probably a bit of adrenaline no wonder they all are so tired, the first term can be tough for Y7 so you can expect this to continue for a while.

LadyLannister · 07/09/2019 06:42

My year 7 twins are absolutely exhausted. I couldn’t even get a coherent sentence out of ds last night - he was just too tired to bother talking. They do have a fairly long walk to school which they’re not used to, and they don’t have lockers so have been having to cart PE kit around with them as well. Hopefully they’ll get used to it before long.

heartshapedknob · 07/09/2019 07:37

Mine is exhausted; was in bed by 9.15pm on the first day back and asleep by 9.25. He’s never fallen asleep so fast in his life!

Quite glad the first week was a short one. I think it’s going to take most of the first half term to get properly into the swing of things.

TheDrunkMoth · 07/09/2019 09:31

Snap! My DD who typically went to bed at 9pm and would lay awake for 30mins trying to nod off, has been asleep before 9pm every night this week! She said she’s enjoying it but there’s lots of walking involved. She did complain her feet were hurting last night🤣 They have two campuses so travelling between the two for lessons is clearly exhausting.

MsAwesomeDragon · 07/09/2019 09:43

I'm a teacher with a year 7 form rather than a parent. Almost all of them are utterly exhausted, and nervous wrecks (there are a couple who aren't and are already showing their potential for trouble). I've dealt with tears at school from several of my form this week.

It's such a change from primary it takes a while to get used to. A lot of my form have come from small primaries where they walked to school and had 10-15 kids in their year, and now have to get a school bus (including remembering which bus to get on at the end of the day!) To as school with over 200 kids in their year. Add in 12 new teachers to get to know (individually, there are about 90 teachers around altogether), needing to find their way around the huge buildings, carrying all their bags and pe kits with them and trying not to lose them, having to speak to a classfull of people they don't know multiple times a day (in the first week all teachers are doing getting to know you activities), and trying to make new friends. It's amazing they cope so well with it!! It would be a huge thing for me to do as an adult, so it's even more of a huge thing for an 11 year old.

Let them sleep as much as they need, and encourage done relaxing activities at evenings and weekends for at least the first half term til they settle in. And lots of understanding for the inevitable emotional outbursts.

clary · 07/09/2019 10:31

Yes agree with others. When I was training to be a teacher we shadowed a student for a day and it really made me think! Remember at primary they are just in o e classroom - now they have to walk all over the school all day, they don't know where to go, the Yr 11s are Scary, the corridors are crowded, they have to carry books and equipment everywhere, and maybe they have a big commute. Cut them a lot of slack.

quissum · 07/09/2019 10:42

And they're so hungry! My Y7 has always been a good eater, but in the last week he's been completely ravenous all the time (in spite of having great food at school).

user1483778494 · 07/09/2019 12:16

My daughter only started on Thursday so has not done a full week yet but has been more tired. There is so much for them to take in, I was exhausted just listening to it all. Plus the walking from school which is definitely not a bad thing as she is normally taken everywhere by me xx

SansaSnark · 08/09/2019 10:31

I agree, there is loads for a new Year 7 to take in! They are meeting a huge number of new people, going from class to class, maybe doing subjects they haven't studied before!

At primary school they will have spent most of their time in one room with one or two teachers. They will know where everything is and how everything works. At secondary they could see as many as 6/7 teachers a day! And even in a very consistent school, each teacher will have slightly different ways of doing things and different rooms.

Many secondary students also do more travelling than they did at primary and this can be pretty tiring.

So yeah! I think it's pretty normal to be tired!

SarahB78 · 08/09/2019 18:53

My ds is really loving it made lots of new friends already 🙂

SillyBub · 08/09/2019 18:58

My DS has been completely wired since starting Y7 on Wednesday and he's normally so laid back. His brain is clearly trying to process all the new stuff each evening. He's happily gone to bed when told which isn't like him at all and has also needed waking up in the mornings when he's normally up and on it as soon as his alarm goes off.

He was completely unaffected when he started Reception when I was told he'd be exhausted so this is quite the surprise!

Helpmyhair2019 · 08/09/2019 21:24

My year 7 boy is absolutely shattered! Glad it’s ‘normal’! The nervous anxiety is at an all time high as well poor thing

BarbariansMum · 09/09/2019 13:29

Yes totally normal. Really caught me by surprise w ds2 but now w ds2 I'm ready for it.

BarbariansMum · 09/09/2019 13:30

Oh for Pete's sake! Ds1. Then ds2. Bloody autocorrect!

formerbabe · 09/09/2019 20:57

Yes! My ds is exhausted...and so moody. I underestimated how big a change it would be for him. Luckily he easily makes friends so that's all fine but he's finding secondary much stricter and homework every night is hard.

I'm finding it tough too BlushSad. Not that I'm showing him that

cotys · 10/09/2019 11:10

I'm so relieved to read this thread, I thought I was going nuts.

My DD is moody, super-tired, snappy, restless - really not her usual calm, happy self and while I gathered that some of it was due to the new school start, it's almost like she's a different person. She loves reading and she's told me she cannot focus on finishing a book chapter! Hope this will not be a permanent state, and things will calm down a bit in a couple of months.

Original poster
DumbleDork · 11/09/2019 14:12

One week in and he’s still the same though it seems everyone else is saying the same. Hopefully it will improve as time goes on.

We are luckily that he doesn’t have a commute as the school is pretty much in our back garden whereas before we had a 40 min walk each way for primary school Shock

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