This Headteacher blog comprises three letters written by new Y7s to their Y6 selves. I asked a group of students to write and share these letters as part of my presentation to families at the Y6 Open Evening. I always enjoy this activity, seeing our school through their eyes and enjoying all their excitement.

The students are nominated by the 4 Houses to speak with me at the Open Evening. The Heads of House and Student Support Assistants choose several students who have made a strong start and will represent the school well. This year was no exception – all the students who spoke were fabulous. The two other accounts of starting Y7 were written by two students nominated by their English teacher.

I hope you enjoy them all.

Dear Y6 me,

I have been at High Storrs for 4 weeks now and even though it is so different to Primary I love it.

I know you had some worries like getting lost and losing your old friends, but everything is fine because you have not got lost yet. Plus, you have made some great new friends, but you and your old mates are still besties.

Being at High Storrs is different. Let me tell you about it. There are so many clubs you can join. All the lessons are really fun especially Food tech and DT. I like having form as it is a bit like your classroom at Primary.

I like High Storrs. I am glad I came!

Lots of love,

M

Dear Y6 me,

I have now been at High Storrs School for 4 weeks and let me tell you it is just amazing.

I know we had some worries about going to secondary school like, making new friends, being on time and getting lost. But it has all worked out okay because the teachers are really nice and understanding and I’ve made some great friends.

Being in Y7 is hectic but great. Let me tell you about some of the things that I have been getting up to.

• We have done lots of new subjects, but my favourite is Art

• I have made lots of new friends in lessons as well as form

• Form time has been especially great as some of my friends are in the same form as me!

• Merlin House is really great we have lots of cool things to do like Merlin Bake Sale

• The food in LF5 is great, way better than my junior schools ever was! You can get pizza, wraps, chips, and paninis.

I love High Storrs!

Love,

C

Dear Y6 me,

I am really enjoying high Storrs so far. It might have been stressful for the first week and a bit but now it is all okay! I know from experience that the most stressful thing is the thought of getting lost. I panicked but it was so unnecessary, I was fine, really. Five minutes stretches much longer than you thought and if you are late the teachers are lenient for the first week or so. The dress code is reasonable too, and I have no problem sticking to it.

I get the bus home and, although busy its very helpful and I get home by half three. Lunchtimes are nice I spend them on the field. My favourite subject is dance. We’re doing musicals. The fresher’s fair was very helpful, I found out about many different clubs. I have only been here for 3 weeks but it already feels like I’ve been here forever.

Lots of love,

S

M2

I can remember before going to summer school, I was incredibly nervous. None of my close friends from my primary school were going to High Storrs and I was wondering if I was going to make new friends at all. Thankfully, they had put me in a group with one of my more distant friends, but we got along well, and we stuck together, as neither of us knew anybody else in the group.

Rather quickly, we made two other friends, and we all got along with ease. Summer school also got us to know what they teach and how they teach the lessons. It also made us feel more comfortable in knowing our way around the school. There was no homework set, and it was mainly just fun and games as well as getting to know the class.

After the week in summer school, I felt more confident about starting secondary school. The first half of the day we spent in form, which consisted of a group of approximately 8 other year 7s; we did some drawing and got to know our form tutor. The second half of the day felt very exciting, as the search to find our classrooms and getting there on time felt like it was all a big adventure.

Overall, the first few days of High Storrs were very exciting and action-packed. I would recommend summer school as it helped me get settled into the timetable and school.

S2

My first impressions of High Storrs School

On transition day I felt nothing but excitement. I had arranged to meet with some of my primary school friends so that we could walk up together. When we arrived, I started trying to make new friends. I was not that successful, but at least I had tried. My primary school friends, on the other hand, stayed in a tight huddle, calling for me to come back.

We then had to stand in our Houses. My Head of House began calling out which forms we were in. I, unlike some, was placed in a form with two people I knew. We then met our form tutors and were showed to our form room, where we were given maps of the school as we waited for the rest of our form to arrive. When they all had, we played some games up until break when we made our way down to the Y7 Quadrangle. After break was our first lesson of the day: dance.

Now that am in Y7 I find that the lessons I am doing now are fun and engaging, and once we even dissected a chicken wing: it was cool! Although I have not made many new friends yet, I have become friendly with most people in my class and can have an interesting conversation with them. I also have some lessons that I particularly enjoy: Science, History, Maths, English, Food Tech, DT, RPE, Geography, Dance and PE. I think I might just have listed all the subjects, but never mind. I used to dread PE at primary school but now I love it. I look forward to it every week. The school lunches are much better here than at primary school, too.

I am enjoying myself at High Storrs.