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Primary Transition
Welcome
At Southborough, our purpose is to make a difference for all of our students. We start doing this from the very start of our students’ school careers - their transition to secondary school. We recognise each year brings a new cohort of Year 7s with their families who share a range of emotions, from excitement to apprehension, and our transition programme is designed to give all of them the best possible start.
Parents & Student Handbook
If you have any questions please contact us
To find out more about our school and vision, see the videos and links below:
This Transition Guide seeks to assist in the smooth transition of our new Year 7 students and lessen any concerns you may have.
Transition Guide
Welcome from the Headteacher
Dear Parents, Carers
and new Year 7 Students,
Welcome to Southborough High School! I love being the headteacher of this school and want you to feel the special relationship with the school that I do. This is now your school as much as it is mine..! Remember: you are the future of this school.
In this special Transition Guide you will find a range of information and guidance intended to ensure that your transition is clear, reassuring and well supported. We also want your transition experience to be absolutely coherent with our school values, which are:
Support Challenge Respect Resilience Responsibility Relationships
We are always seeking ways to improve our provision and, as such, would welcome any feedback you may give us on this Transition Guide or on any aspect of our work with you during this crucial time.
With this in mind, please do not hesitate to contact the school should you require any further information or clarification on this Transition Guide, or any other aspect of transition and induction to Southborough High School.
I look forward to working with you: your future starts here!
Yours sincerely,
Niall Smith
Welcome from the Heads of Year
Hello Year 6!
We are thrilled to know that you have chosen Southborough High School for the next chapter in your lives and we are looking forward to starting this journey with you.
We will be your joint Heads of Year next year and together, with the staff of SHS, we will make it the best yet! The transition process that we are using this year is different than it would normally be but rest assured that we are working hard behind the scenes to ensure your transition from primary to secondary will be a smooth one.
Mr Sowerbutts and Ms Taylor
Watch our video, Why come to our school? to see Southborough in action
We will be meeting with your primary school to gain important information about you and your experience of school so far: what you enjoy and what you are good at.
We are also planning opportunities for you to come into school before you start in September.
My advice to you right now would be to continue to work hard with your studies at primary school and use this transition guide to prepare yourself for the next exciting academic year.
We have lots to offer each of you whether you enjoy Art, Maths, Sports or, have a keen interest in environmental issues – Southborough really does have something for everyone.
We look forward to meeting your primary school teachers to learn lots about you and prepare what will be a welcoming and enjoyable year where most importantly, you will feel safe and fully supported enabling you to grow further from primary pupils to secondary students.
For now, I wish you and your families well; I hope you enjoy reading through this transition guide and browsing through our website to enthuse you about the many opportunities which lie ahead.
We will be seeing you all very soon and we can’t wait!
Take care, Ms Taylor & Mr Sowerbutts
Preparing for Southborough High School -Curriculum
Our curriculum is designed to provide a broad, balanced, coherent and relevant education. It is important that each student ensures we understand his needs and that he understands the courses available.
At Southborough our vision is one of excellence for every student and we can achieve this by aiming high and working together as teachers, support staff, parents/carers and students. When we work together as a genuine partnership there is no limit to what we can achieve.
Please visit our website link to view ourCurriculum Overview
Our Curriculum offer at Year 7 is further explained by Mr Burns, Deputy Head Teacher, here:
Our Extra Curricular activities can be found here : Year 7 Extra Curricular Activities
Preparing For Southborough High School: Pastoral Support
Mr EdwardsAt Southborough High School we pride ourselves on
our pastoral care and support to all our students and
their parents. As I am sure you are aware by now that
our purpose as a school is ‘making the difference to all
our students’ and this is driven through our core values
of Respect, Relationships and Support.
We truly believe in building these core values and
with it students will be safe, happy and take pride in
themselves and their school.
A whole school priority for all our staff is early intervention and as a school we are fully committed in providing all students the care and support they need from day one to ensure they become confident and respectful young men.
We strive to achieve this through our Student Support Service.
Our pastoral offer is further explained by Mr Edwards, Assistant Head Teacher, here :
Welcome and Hello from your SENDCo
Mr NicholasAll students, irrespective of prior attainment, are offereda broad and balanced curriculum at Southborough which can be personalised to meet specific needs.
The SEN Department works closely with teaching staff, pastoral support officers and home to ensure students’ needs are met to enable progress within their ability levels.
You can find further information of our SEND provision using the links below.
SHS SEND Provision
A message from our SENDCo
Year 7 letters to Year 6
Year 7 letters to Year 6
Dear Year 6,
Joining secondary school can be a little worrying especially in times like this. You may be worried about becoming lost and that is fair, but there is an easy solution to this: Southborough is easy to navigate as there are only 4 floors: A,B,C and D. On your timetable there is a room number for each of your lessons for example: B1, this would be the first room on the second floor. There are also helpful signposts around the school which make it easier for you to find your way around.You may be thinking about having lots of different teachers in different classrooms may be confusing, but this isn’t as bad as people think: it gives you the opportunity to meet new teachers and not having the same teacher over and over again. I really enjoy it and you get used to it very quickly.
Jared, Year 7
Dear future Southborough students,
There are a few differences between primary and secondary schools, one of the main differences is the uniform because at Southborough we wear ties and blazers. Don’t worry about learning how to tie a tie. Ties are easy to do. It only took me two weeks to learn properly by watching how other students do it and practicing.
Another difference is that you may have to take your books everywhere you go as you will have different lessons with different books. My advice is to pack the books you need for the next day, in your bag, the night before, this will make sure you are prepared.
Sometimes in lessons you can go on your devices to help with the work, the teacher will tell you when this is allowed and it can help your learning. If you're worried about making friends I guarantee that one of your friends will come to Southborough and if they make friends probably their friends will become your friends too and the same the other way around.
Southborough is a great place to go to school; there are lots of extra curricular activities you can do here for example: sports, art, music and more. There are loads of clubs such as football, rugby, table tennis, basketball and they're all free. You just turn up when you want. Secondary school is nothing to be afraid of, it’s fun.
James, Year 7
Dear Year Six students,
I realise you may be worried about starting secondary school in September, I know how you feel so I will try and help as much as possible. Our school is big but you will find your way around, if you get lost, try and find a teacher and ask them were you should go or ask an older student and see if they could help point the way: everyone is very helpful.The teachers are really friendly at Southborough and so are the students, they are always there to help and give advice.
Now, homework is a bit different in secondary, you get about three pieces of homework a day. Some can be five minutes long, others can be up to an hour. It is a bit overwhelming at times but you will get used to it, you just need to be organised and try to complete them the night you get it set.
Southborough also offers lots of fun sports to do and we have lots of clubs to join after school. Try to get involved - you’ll make new friends.
You will love it here, trust me.
Moss, Year 7
Dear Year 6 student,
I am writing to tell you everything will be fine when you get to Southborough and please try not to worry. I know it is a difficult time at the moment but we will make sure that you are made welcome at your new school.Everyone will help you and the teachers will show you around and make sure you do not get lost.
There is a lot of homework but you will get used to it. There are also lots of after school clubs that you can join which are free. Don’t worry if you are not with your primary school friends as you will make new friends and you may be in the same Maths set as them. Good luck in Southborough.
Oliver, Year 7
Dear Year 6,
I know moving to a new school can be really nerve-wracking and that is fine because I was nervous too and I know what it is like to be in your position.I am going to tell you how to overcome those nerves. Southborough is a big school but do not worry if you are lost as teachers will help you get around and in the first few weeks, it is ok to be a bit late for your class also everyone else in your year is in the same boat and they know you’re finding your way. Because everyone is trying to make friends, think
of icebreaker questions to start conversations and potentially make new friends. You will make friends easy.
Dexter, Year 7
Dear Year 6,
Now at this time you are probably feeling a connection to your primary school and worried about leaving it. I was feeling like that too and I missed my teachers but from the first day at Southborough, I was so excited. It was something that I never expected. Instead of struggling to make friends everyone was so inviting! Not only that but the subjects are way cooler! In science you can do insane experiments with chemistry and gravity. It’s very exciting.
Ryan, Year 7
Dear Year 6 students,
At Southborough there are lots of new exciting lessons you will experience. My favourite lesson is Art because it is very different from primary school. We have art studios with lots of exciting projects and equipment to use, I love going to the Art Club - I recommend it.
I also enjoy the coding club where I have learned to make games!
I found the biggest difference between primary and secondary school was the moving to different classrooms for my different subjects, this is easy to work out as you get a timetable with the different classroom numbers on it so it is easy to find your way. You will learn the school very quickly.
Madhav, Year 7
Dear Year 6,
I hope you are looking forward to joining Southborough, you’ll have a great time here! There are lots of things you can do after school and at lunch times on top of your lessons. This year I got involved in our Grease production and it was great fun! I worked with boys from different year groups and made even more friends. I really enjoyed the Grease performance and will definitely take part in our next one. You could also get involved too. Have a great summer, see you in September!
Igor, Year 7
Introduction to ClassCharts
At Southborough we know communication is vital to ensure a smooth transition into Year 7. Parents can be concerned about who to talk to if they have any worries when their child moves to secondary school. As far as possible, we aim to duplicate the quality of communication that you are used to receiving from your son’s primary school. It is important to uphold connections between school and home: it allows us to fully support your son; clear home/school relationships enhance the experience of all students and therefore at Southborough, we use ClassCharts to communicate with
students and parents/carers daily.
It is through this platform, which can be accessed via our website or downloaded as a free app that you will be able to track homework, timetables, behaviour points, student rewards store, daily announcements and connect directly with staff via the messaging service. This would also be a most efficient way for your son’s tutor and class teachers to communicate important information directly to you.
Please familiarise yourselves with this fantastic communication platform via:
ClassCharts guide for parents and ClassCharts guide for students
Your login details will be communicated with you in the new academic year.
Virtual Tour Video
Introduction to ParentPay
Southborough High School has a cashless system to enable parents and carers to authorise payments for things like dining hall meals and school trips called ParentPay. Details about setting up an account will be communicated to you in the new academic year. In the meantime, you can find more information through the link below.
School Uniform & Equipment
Please click here to see the requirements and whereabouts to purchase