Starting High School

Kids have mixed feelings about starting secondary school. It’s a heady combination of excitement and nerves about; new friends, subjects, teachers, new routines, making friends, uniforms, workload, or fitting in. Parents can also worry about whether their children will have the confidence and skills to handle all the changes. Secondary school also means a move from the familiar to the unknown – and a whole new way of doing things.

Parents have the biggest influence on how smooth the transition is. Friends also impact how a child feels about the move, but parental support has stronger and longer-lasting effects.

You can help to ease any worries your child has about starting secondary school by preparing your child beforehand.

Relationships

Kids will need a lot of reassurance about meeting new peers and making new friends and establishing or re-establishing their position within a new peer group. It’s normal to worry and let them know that finding friends that are a ‘good fit’ for them can take time. Encourage your child to invite new friends over, or be ready to transport your child to play dates. Discovering new opportunities, like trying a new sport or joining a drama class, are great ways to meet new friends and get involved in school.

Schoolwork

Kids will need to adapt to new teaching and assessment styles, cope with a wide range of subjects, adjust to having different teachers in different classrooms, become more responsible for their learning, manage a heavier and more complicated work load, become more computer literate, and manage a new, complex timetable.

Dealing with worries

Talk with children about what they are most looking forward to and nervous about. Really listen when kids share and reassure them that it’s normal to worry about going to secondary school. Encourage them to focus on the positives. For example, highlight the new opportunities they will have by talking about extracurricular activities at the new school.

Talk about friendships. For example, ask what their friends are saying about secondary school. Also talk about how they

might keep in touch with old friends and make new friends at high school.