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Going to comprehensive or secondary school can be very exciting but it can also be a little bit scary to begin with. Here are some tips to help you:
When you are in Year 6 of primary school you will probably get chance to go on a visit to your new school. If you do, make sure you go it will really make a difference to how you feel.
If you are going to have to use a service bus or the train to get to school you may be worrying about this. Ask your parents or carer if they can help you go on some practice runs during the school holidays. This will help you feel more confident when the new term starts.
Before the new term starts agree with your parents what you should do if you miss the bus or there is an emergency of some kind. Knowing what to do makes everything less scary.
The new school is probably a lot bigger than your old school and you will have to learn where everything is - don‘t worry you will soon find your way around and everyone else in Year 7 will be in the same position.
There will be a lot of older and bigger children at the school - this can be scary at first but you will soon get used to them.
You will have to get used to having a timetable and different teachers taking you for different subjects.
Rules may be a bit stricter than when you were in primary school.
Settling in
Firstly, give yourself time to get used to it - you can‘t expect to feel at home right away, many people take at least the first half term to start feeling comfortable.
If, after the October half term, you are still having problems settling in your new school try to talk to your parents or teachers about it.
You may find you don‘t like every subject, or get on with every teacher or every other pupil, this is quite normal - but for the sake of your education it‘s important to try and get along. For every subject or person you don‘t like there will be many more that you do.
If you are being bullied read our article on bullying for tips on how to deal with this.
If you are having problems and feel you can‘t talk to anyone at home or in school you could call Childline on 0800 1111 or visit Childline
