The transition from Primary School to Secondary is a daunting yet a somehow satisfactory process. Most of us have experienced the exciting sensation of new uniforms, meeting new friends and a sense of maturity and responsibility, to name a few. Even the fear from a new, unknown place is drowned by the flurry of enthusiasm. Children not only go through a mental transition during this period of time, but also a physical one. Nevertheless, it’s not all fun and games, as we soon find out.

Children in primary school study in an easy-going and stress free environment. They also have fairly relaxed teaching system with many ‘playtimes’. This is an extremely comfortable atmosphere for small children. However, as they enter into secondary school, they soon come to realise the importance and seriousness of education. Which may hit them quite hard depending on how lenient their primary schools were. For example, some primary schools give out spelling to learn and maybe a couple of pieces of homework per week, however, in secondary schools, students have to learn to deal with and complete multiple pieces of homework per day. This means that students must always keep on top of their studies and learn to manage their time properly. They must prioritise this to achieve the best of their abilities. One way to accomplish this is to start making revision notes as early as needed. This is a valuable skill to attain while students are in secondary schools. This is also another way in which primary and secondary schools differ. Nonetheless, this can’t be helped as the children in primary are not yet mentally as capable and mature as those in secondary schools.

When children make the changeover into secondary schools, they may leave behind most of their very early childhood friends. However gloomy this sounds, in a way it may be beneficial for them. This is because it gives them a chance to make more friends, mingle and socialize with a larger variety of people, and make worthy friends that will last a lifetime.

When asked on how she was feeling about moving to secondary school, a year 6 student from Trinity Church of England Primary School commented, ‘Well, it’s a little scary. But I think that I can make a lot of new friends at my new secondary school. It makes me feel really excited.’

Despite some of the intimidating factors of secondary schools, it is thoroughly enriching and even fun sometimes!

Swathi Nambiar, Newstead Wood School