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.
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.
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:
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
My name is Mr Howe, your new Head of Year, and I am absolutely delighted to hear that you will be joining Southborough High School this September. The Southborough staff and I are incredibly excited to start this new chapter of learning with you, and together, we aim to make it your best year yet!
Mr Howe
Watch our video - "Why come to our school?" - to see Southborough in action
Grounded in our school’s key values of respect, relationships, and resilience, I am looking forward to nurturing a culture where you will form fantastic friendships, truly enjoy your subject classes, and grow into confident, happy, and kind young men. I also want to encourage each of you to get involved in as many of our extra-curricular clubs as possible.
Rest assured, I am working hard behind the scenes to ensure that your transition from primary to secondary school is a smooth, reassuring, and happy one.
Very shortly, I will be welcoming both you and your families into school. We will be holding friendly, informal interviews between you and our staff, which will enable us to learn all about you and your experience of school so far—including what you enjoy and what you are good at. During these interviews, you will also be able to find out more about our exciting and enjoyable Summer Camp, which is the perfect opportunity to have fun and build bonds with your new Southborough peers! On top of that, you will be joining us for Transition Day later in the term to get a real feel for the school.
My advice to you right now is to keep working hard with your studies at primary school and to use this transition guide to prepare yourself for the exciting academic year ahead.
We have so much to offer each of you. Whether you love Art, Maths, Sports, or have a keen interest in environmental issues (you might like to join our Eco Club!), Southborough truly has something for everyone. I am really looking forward to meeting you and your parents or carers, learning all about your unique talents, and preparing for a welcoming year where, most importantly, you will feel safe, valued, and fully supported. We are here to help you cross the bridge from primary pupils to thriving secondary students.
For now, I wish you and your families all the very best. I hope you enjoy reading through this transition guide and browsing our website to get a taste of the many brilliant opportunities that lie ahead.
I will be seeing you all very soon, and I simply cannot wait!
Take care, Mr Howe Head of Year 7
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 our Curriculum 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:
At 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, Senior Assistant Head Teacher, here :
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
What Our Year 7 Students Have to Say about Transition to Secondary School
Are you wondering what life is really like during your first year at Southborough High School? And does our transition programme truly help you settle in?
With the final summer term of the academic year now underway, we caught up with a group of our current Year 7 students. They were incredibly keen to look back on their journey and share their first-hand experiences with Year 6 students who are about to join our community this September.
Looking remarkably smart and sporting big smiles, the boys could not praise the school’s warm and welcoming culture enough. They all agreed that our robust transition programme made a phenomenal difference to their confidence—especially as they were all arriving from different primary schools.
According to the boys, the complete transition package—including Friendship Day, Welcome Day, Summer School, and the Walton Firs activity day—provided the perfect opportunity to familiarise themselves with the school surroundings, dive into exciting new subjects, meet our friendly staff, and build lasting friendships.
A Supportive Community & Free Extra-Curricular Clubs
The boys all spoke incredibly highly of their Head of Year, describing them as warm, approachable, and deeply supportive. They noted that making friends both inside and outside the classroom was incredibly easy, particularly for those who took advantage of Southborough's wide variety of extra-curricular clubs. From drama and chess to history, the boys were delighted to discover that all extra-curricular clubs at Southborough are completely free of charge, everyone could come along! Unknown
For many of our Year 7s, the school day starts early. A number of the boys explained that they love getting to school super early each morning just to play football on the AstroTurf or practise their skills in the cricket nets. The boys emphasised that regardless of sporting ability, the PE staff are exceptionally encouraging, ensuring everyone has a go and providing excellent training sessions to boost personal confidence.
Exciting Subjects and Inspiring Staff
The academic transition has been a highlight of the year. In Science, the boys have loved conducting hands-on experiments, which included growing crystals, designing parachutes, crushing cans, and testing acids! Creativity has thrived in Design Technology (DT), where students have crafted their own key fobs and tote bags, while Food Technology has proven a firm favourite for baking delicious treats—including some spectacular cakes.
A major point echoed by all the boys was the overwhelming feeling that the teachers and support staff are genuinely "on their side." While firm and fair, the staff are distinctly kind, approachable, and entirely committed to helping each student succeed.
Of course, the boys candidly added that homework can sometimes be tricky—after all, excellent learning requires effort! However, they agreed that the subject departments plan the workload evenly across the timetable, so homework levels are manageable.
They even found the benefits in our three Pre-Public Exam (PPE) periods held throughout the year. While the daily exams required high levels of concentration and focus, each exam week was rewarded with a full day of high-energy Interform sports (such as football or rugby) and a half-day off. In the boys' own words: "Result!"
Looking Forward to Every Day (and the Food!)
While each student has developed their own favourite subject—spanning English, Drama, PE, and Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)—they were unanimous in agreeing that coming into Southborough is something they genuinely look forward to every single day. Another massive bonus? The food served in the dining hall, which features a wide variety of both hot and cold options, was delicious!
A Final Message to Our Incoming Year 6 Students
We asked the boys what final piece of advice they would give to the Year 6 students joining us this September:
Thank You!
A huge thank you to Pranish, Jacob, Finlay, Oliver and Freddie for taking time out of their busy schedules to chat with us and for sending such reassuring words to our upcoming cohort!
At Southborough, we know that our structured, carefully designed transition programme enables all new Year 7 students to experience a positive, happy, and successful start to secondary school life.
Want to see our school in action? Come and experience the Southborough culture for yourself at our upcoming Open Evening and Open Day tours!
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:
and
ClassCharts guide for students
Your login details will be communicated with you in the new academic year.
Virtual Tour Video
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.
Please click here to see the requirements and whereabouts to purchase
