Transition Overview

The move from primary to high school is a key time in a young person's life.  Smooth transition ensures continuity of academic progress and makes it a positive experience for students.

At Holy Family we have a team of staff whose responsibility is to work with primary schools, students and parents throughout the process. This begins with our Open Evening early in the Autumn Term for Year 5 and Year 6 students. We visit all feeder Primary school to talk to students both before and after the date for selecting a Secondary school and we meet with Primary school staff to discuss all students individually so that we are fully aware of their circumstances, academic progress and needs.

Once students have been allocated a place we invite parents/carers to a information evening and in July all students spend a day with us doing lessons, taking part in a liturgy and getting to know the school.

For a number of years we have invited new year 7 students to Summer School - a three day programme of activities in the Summer Holidays which gives students the opportunity to spend some time in school with staff in advance of September. 

We allocate Year 7 students to Houses and Forms based on information we have received from the primary schools to ensure a good mix of ability, social groups and gender.

Early in the Autumn term after students have joined us in September we invite parents/carers in to meet with Form Tutors to see how things are going and to discuss and resolve any concerns.

As with all aspects of school life, smooth transition and ensuring that students settle in quickly is achieved by effective and open communication between school and home.

Transition for September 2024

If your child is due to join us in September 2024 you will find below key information that has been shared with parents and carers. 

Transition to Secondary School - Further Support

We also have a number of fun interactive resources and links to helpful videos for your children to engage with which will help to prepare them for the big move.

Packed with videos, interactive games, tips and advice, the Starting Secondary School link below will help your child during their last term in primary school and through their critical first weeks at secondary school. 

Starting Secondary School has lots of content hosted on BBC Bitesize, including peer-to-peer advice from the stars of CBBC series Our School who have first-hand experience of making the move to secondary school.

It also has practical tips for you as a parent on how to prepare your child for secondary school, as well as resources to help start discussions around transition, produced in partnership with YoungMinds.