Young Wrexham

Starting Secondary School

Going to comprehensive or secondary school can be very exciting but it can also be a little bit scary to begin with. You'll be in a new class with people you don't know, with new buildings to find your way around and new systems and timetables to understand.

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 get the chance, make sure you go as it will help you to know what to expect and find your way around on your first day
• 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 and 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 will help you to feel more confident when the new term starts
• 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. Remember, there are a lot of other people in the same situation as you and they won't be used to the situation either
• 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 because there are a lot more pupils and there is a lot more going on

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 you are still having problems settling in your new school at the end of your first term, try to talk to your parents or teachers about it
• You might 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. As time goes on you might find that you feel differently towards a subject or person as you find out more but if not don't worry, for every subject or person you don‘t like there will be many more that you do
• If you begin to have problems with pupils and this develops into you being bullied then you need to do something about it, read our section on bullying for tips on how to deal with this