Year 7 transition (ID 1205)

• Amelie
  Head Student
  Amelie

  Hi,

  Its Amelie here! I am going to be one the Head Students next year while you are in year 7. I am so excited that you will be joining us at SFX in 2022!

  Obviously, I will be in year 11 next year, but I promise I'm not scary like you think most year 11s will be. None of us are. We are just tall.

  SFX is a fantastic school, you have definitely chosen well. We have lots of fun things here at SFX such as a wide range of after school clubs including amazing sports, music, and drama departments. I can guarantee there will be something for each one of you to do not only after school, but at lunch times (which is good if you live far away like me and can't stay after school!). We are a small school with a big heart and even bigger ambition.

  Everyone here at SFX, students and staff alike, are friendly and supportive and are always there if you need them. I know you might be worried about moving to secondary school, worried that you might not have many friends from your primary school with you, I was too. I made friends very easily here because everyone is so kind and welcoming.

  I would just like to say again how excited we are to have you joining us as at SFX next year! I am looking forward to meeting you all and getting to know you all!

  See you soon!

  Amelie

• Andrew
  Head Student
  Andrew

  Hello Year 6,

  It's Andrew here and I will be one of your head students (along with Amelie) for 2022.

  I know you may be feeling nervous or excited about going to secondary school. You may be feeling anxious about how nice your teachers will be, how much homework you will get or how you will make new friends. Believe me, I felt the same. But, as soon as I walked through the door, I felt a part of the SFX community.

  The teachers are friendly and welcoming and want to make you enjoy your time at school as much as possible. They never set homework that is unachievable, but it is always a challenge to complete and fully aids your learning. If you are worried about getting lost as you now have to change rooms every lesson, don't be. There is a very simple room arrangement, and the floor walls are painted the colour of the floor, so you know that if you are on the blue floor, the walls are blue. Even if you are struggling with the system, you can always ask a member of staff or fellow pupil and they will guide you to your room.

  Making new friends may be one of the hardest things you feel will happen when you get to secondary school, but you'll soon find a friendship group you fit in with. You will be in different seating plans each lesson so have the chance to interact with lots of fellow members of your year group and to make friends with them. There are lots of friendly people in other year groups too and lots of extracurricular activities for you to take part in at lunchtimes. Whether your sporty and enjoy football, basketball, rugby, cricket, netball just to name a few of the sports we play, or you have other interests like the ks3 science club, chess club or the eco team, there are plenty of clubs to get involved with where you can make new friends.

  I can't wait to welcome you to the school in September and Amelie and I will be present around school to make sure you settle in well and I hope you are excited to join The St Francis Xavier school community.

  See you in September!

  Andrew

   

• Seren
  Year 7 student
  Seren

  Dear year 6 moving up to SFX,

  My name is Seren and I am about to complete my first year in SFX. Before I came here, I didn't know anyone else (except my brother who was already here).

  On the first day we did lots of ice breakers in form to help us to get to know each other and our form teacher explained about how everything in the school worked, so things like our timetables, break times and lunch breaks.

  I have taken part in quite a few extra curricular activities which I would recommend you look at because it's a really good way to meet new people with similar interests, and try things out that you couldn't do in primary.

  I didn't know quite what to expect changing to secondary but it has been really good having specialist teachers who can talk in more depth about what they are teaching. In science you can do lots of practical lessons because you are in a proper lab!

  The residential at the start of year 7 was brilliant; I made a lot of friends there even though I was a bit worried about it.

  Every week we have a whole school assembly and key stage 3 assemblies and sometimes the forms get to do the ks3 assemblies. In form we do student led collective worship and other things to make sure we are ready for the day.

  It is always good to know that there is the pastoral team, who will help you out if you need it.

  You also will have your head of year if you ever need to talk to somebody. All of the staff are very friendly. SFX also provides great resources like the library, where you can go and get books and do study at breaks and lunches on the computers.

  I hope you will enjoy SFX.

  Seren

• Libby
  Year 7 student
  Libby

  Dear year 6 moving up to SFX,

  Even though the school may seem enormous at first, you will be given a time table with the number of the class room and the floor it is on to help you get around the school. Green (g) is the lower floor blue (b) is ground floor and purple (p) is top floor (each floor's halls and classes are the same colour). All class doors are labelled with the correct numbers. And within a few weeks you will already have a good idea of getting around school.

  If you are coming on your own, with 1 friend or 20, it doesn't matter because everyone is in the same boat and looking for new friends. In my experience, I made at least 4 friends by the end of the first day and I and only joined with 1 person I knew. I now have a group of amazing and trustworthy friends.

  You may imagine piles of homework, and yes you will get some, but don't worry you will be given a planner, which has lots of information on our school, and that includes pages to write down your homework to help you keep on top of it. When I say eventually you will get more homework I mean 4, 5 or 6 pieces a week to complete, which really isn't much.

  If anything does happen that's causing problems (which I doubt it will) you can always talk to the caring staff who are always willing to help you. Whether it be friends, test stress or school work they are always there to help and support you.

  In my first year at SFX I have made new friends like no other, found a new passion, had multiple amazing experiences (including writing this), laughed and smiled too many times to count and just had fun every moment of it.

  I wish all of you the best look as you make your transition from primary to secondary school, and hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

  Libby