First Day nerves

[jojo1]

My son is starting Whsb tomorrow(his birthday) and is starting to get very stressed, which is very unlike him. I've tried to reassure him as his main concern is that at the taster day a lot of the boys were very geeky, has anyone elses child started to panic?

[Minesatea]

I think they are all nervous to varying degrees. Secondary school is a big step, especially if they are moving on without their primary school friends. Both of mine went to grammar schools knowing no-one, and I am sure they were very nervous on their first days but friendship groups soon seem to sort out. Yes there will be some geeky boys, but there will also be groups of eg. sporty and musical boys as well, so I am sure he will find soon find some likeminded friends. Extra curricular clubs can be a good way to meet boys with similar interests from other classes.
Good luck to all this weeks new starters.

[coffee]

Hi, my DS is also starting WHSB today and he is terrified to say the least! He didn't particularly enjoy his induction day, I think he was just so nervous. He's also worried that the boys in his class are all much brighter than him and he will not make any friends.
My DS is very sporty so I've encouraged him to join the sports clubs if he can so that he can meet other boys who he might have something in common with.
Luckily we met up with another new boy at the weekend who will be on the same bus (we are in Chelmsford) so they were going to try to sit near each other.
Interestingly both of them are so worried about getting detentions. I suspect this was talked about a lot on the induction day as that was thing my DS kept talking about. We've told him not to worry about that - I don't expect him to go through school without getting one!
Just keeping fingers crossed that today won't be as bad as he is imagining it will be.
Hope all the new year 7's have a great 'first days'.

[jojo1]

After all the anxiety my son put himself through(and us worrying about him) he was fine,he's also very sporty and doing the football trials tomorrow after school, so once he gets fully involved in school life I'm sure he'll never look back. I hope everyone elses children got on ok?

[Worrisome Mum]

My DS got ok on the first day and came back home quite excited and exhausted. But seems the school is quite strict. The boys were handed out their conduct cards and apparently one of the boys card was signed while being handed- for untidy uniform (shirt pulled out from the trousers) on the first day!!
The first sentence I am hearing since last two days after school is ' Didn't get my conduct card signed off'.
The more it is signed the more closer to detention....
My DS has started making friends on the bus and that includes Year 8-11 boys. But says the big boys though friendly appear intimidating. Anybody's DS feels the same?
So far so good and hope all of the boys settle down soon. Good Luck to the new starters!

[mum of boys]

My DS2 started at WHSB this week too. He has a brother there in yr 10 so despite not knowing anyone, he seemed quite relaxed about it. However, he found the first day quite overwhelming and then managed to miss the bus home which really finished him off!
He came home much more cheerful yesterday though and I'm sure it won't be long until he makes some good friends. I think it's just such a huge change from his small primary school that it's going to take a little while to get used to it.
I do remember feeling very overwhelmed myself when DS1 started there and within weeks he was really settled. He loves it there and has made some really good friends.
Hope they all survive the first week and are happy to go back on Monday!!

[coffee]

My DS also missed his bus home on the first day. It took me ages to get there because of the traffic, he was fine just sitting on his sports bag all alone outside. I was panicking big time. I doubt very much it will be the last time he misses it. He thought he got there quickly today but lots of boys were already on the bus, I suppose it depends where their last lesson was.
I'm not sure about the bag situation, I read that they should put school books in PE bag when they have sports and not to carry two bags. But surely all the books will get messed up? He has his locker key but has no idea where his locker is!
He has come home with a few funny tales and has met 3 new friends in his form. I just really hope he settles in ok, especially with the travelling and homework - if not, will have to think of a Plan B!

[moved]

One of the saddest things of being bright is being labelled as a geek without people looking further. Often the able have a huge variety of talents such as sport, dance, singing, music, drama and art. Often because they are bright they can use their brains to excel at these talents too.

[ToadMum]

I'm not sure about the bag situation, I read that they should put school books in PE bag when they have sports and not to carry two bags.

Did I not read somewhere on the WHSB site that the school prefers the boys to have attaché cases rather than backpacks, to prevent damage to their schoolbooks? This suggestion seems rather at odds with that! (damage to young bodies from lugging heavy attaché cases around rather than distributing the weight of their schoolbooks more safely in a backpack being of secondary consideration, of course ).