11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi,

I am fairly new here, I think I have posted once before.

My daughter is going to be starting at secondary school in September and I wondered if there is anything I can work with her at home to prepare her for year 7.

Should I just get a workbook at her current level to make sure her knowledge is solid and not forgotten? Or should I try to get her prepared for her next level and familiarise her with anything that might come up?

How do secondary schools work? Do they continue to teach you from the level you are on and continue? Or does everyone start from scratch again with a blank slate so a level 2-3 child would be learning the same things as a level 4 or 5 child?

Thanks

K

Hello - I wouldn't do anything work-wise.

The main issues at the start of Year 7 are to do with being organised ie having the right kit each day and managing homework. If you do a search you'll find threads from previous years with tips for starting Secondary.

When she gets her timetable then get her to write which kit she needs each day and then put a copy in her room and one near the front door. She might also find that her homework timetable is useful so she can check that but she'll probably get a planner of some description for that.

Get her in the habit of packing her bag each evening with the stuff she needs for the next day and nothing else.

+1

And have a nice shopping trip to buy her a pencil case with all the gubbons in it! The main role is, as Guest55 says, to prepare them for taking responsibility for knowing what they need to have with them each day and supporting their emotional needs (she will be tired and possibly teary, as new school is a lot to take in over the first week).

Try and enjoy the summer!

One thing I learned from DD when trying to be extra-nice to her because she had failed to get any of her school choices was that the absolute worst thing was getting one of those 'moving up' books . Each child is an individual, of course, but she said that it just made a big deal of things which really weren't.

As well as the 'school' organisation things, make sure your DD knows her route to school, bus times etc if relevant. Cut her a bit of slack - initially you will probably want her to come straight home at the end of the day, but there is a world out there that she and her friends can safely explore. It is also useful to have a good relationship with e.g. shops where they can turn for help if necessary. I once had to leave our then 8 year old DS2 in town for two or three hours in the care of his 13 year old brother and his friends and we decided that Holland and Barrett was to be his his refuge to go to to phone DS1 if he got detached from them - relatively quiet and kind, helpful staff. Apparently it only happened twice .

Guest55 wrote:Hello - I wouldn't do anything work-wise.

The main issues at the start of Year 7 are to do with being organised ie having the right kit each day and managing homework. If you do a search you'll find threads from previous years with tips for starting Secondary.

When she gets her timetable then get her to write which kit she needs each day and then put a copy in her room and one near the front door. She might also find that her homework timetable is useful so she can check that but she'll probably get a planner of some description for that.

Get her in the habit of packing her bag each evening with the stuff she needs for the next day and nothing else.

+1.

This is all that's really necessary apart from buying the new bag / pencil case etc. And maybe trying out the bus route?

Enjoy the summer break!

All we will be doing is to try and continue with reading and to keep a bit of a diary, just a paragraph a day so they don't forget how to write!!

Thank you everyone for your replies. I will probably not have much time to do anything anyway as we are away a lot over summer. I just didn't want her to drop down a level during the break. Since I asked the question, the results came through and scraped a 5c in all her subjects (she was predicted 4a for everything). I wanted to make sure her knowledge was a bit more solid so she would be going in feeling confident.

Thanks,

K

When you buy the pencil case and the bits make sure you get some sturdy foolscap plastic folders. One for each subject and get your dd used to using them to put the exercise book and the text book in; clearly labelled they are easy to grab and all the bits will be together - believe me there are lots of bits of paper at secondary school and they don't always stick them in immediately.

That is a brilliant tip! Thank you Doodles!

Guest55 wrote:Hello - I wouldn't do anything work-wise.

The main issues at the start of Year 7 are to do with being organised ie having the right kit each day and managing homework. If you do a search you'll find threads from previous years with tips for starting Secondary.

When she gets her timetable then get her to write which kit she needs each day and then put a copy in her room and one near the front door. She might also find that her homework timetable is useful so she can check that but she'll probably get a planner of some description for that.

Get her in the habit of packing her bag each evening with the stuff she needs for the next day and nothing else.

As someone who is constantly up DS's current school with things he has forgotten, we will be working hard on this over the summer!

I am concerned thought that his brain will be mush come September. He has barely done anything academic at school since SATS. I will be encouraging him to carry on his reading over the holidays and lots of board games, but does anyone know of good apps to keep his brain working? I read on here about Duolingo which I might try with him but any maths/puzzle app recommendations would be greatly received.