In the summer term, primary schools and high schools begin to exchange information about the children who will be going to high school. They also discuss which children will be in which class. This can be quite a complicated process and schools approach this in different ways. This section looks at different models of exchanging information and allocating classes.
At the same time high school staff often visit primary schools to meet the children and discuss any issues or worries the children may have.

Prospectus and Newsletters
High School Visits

Prospectus and Newsletters - Valuable high school information

The school prospectus provides valuable information about the school, its ethos, structure and ambitions. These publications are designed for parents and carers who will be involved in the selection process.

To complement the prospectus, a number of schools also produce newsletters for prospective parents.

Model 1

Here is a list of contents for one high school newsletter:

• greetings to parents from the head teacher
• dates for your diary
• curriculum news
• sports news
• other news (the new build programme, etc.)

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High School Visits

What the children say

‘It would help if teachers from high school came to our primary school.’

The format of these visits varies from school to school. Some primary schools send the head of Year 7 to high schools, others also send learning mentors. Some schools have termly meetings between Years 6 and 7 teachers and mentors throughout the year to liase and discuss transition issues.

In a small number of schools, high school teachers go into primary schools throughout Year 6 to take literacy or numeracy classes. This has the advantage of familiarising primary school pupils with the teachers they will meet when they move up to high school. It also gives teachers a more detailed understanding of the ability of the children.

Here are models of the way in which some Leeds¹ schools organise their visits and use these to prepare for transition.

Model 1

• The heads of lower school and Year 7, together with a learning mentor, visit all feeder schools in the second half of the summer term.
• Head of Year 7 teaches a lesson, whilst the learning mentor and head of lower school talk to teachers.
• They take postcards and get pen portraits of each child. These cards are then used to place the children in the most appropriate classes.
• The high school tries to have no more than four pupils from each primary school in the same class. They base the selection on friendship groups, ability, sex, and the children¹s interests. Children are not asked for their choices.
• Learning mentors make a second visit to the school if necessary so they can get to know the students who are being mentored.

Model 2

• The head of Year 7 goes into schools twice.
• On the first visit, he takes a form tutor to look after the children whilst he talks to the Year 6 teacher to get pen portraits of the children.
• Before the second visit, he asks Year 7 pupils to write letters to all Year 6 children, selects the best and gets former pupils to go with him to talk to Year 6s. Year 6 children ask very pertinent questions and Year 7s give very honest answers.

Model 3

• Teachers and learning mentors visit the primary schools and talk to the children about issues that will affect them.
• The talk includes: how a high school timetable differs from a primary school timetable, rules, logos, uniform, attendance and punctuality, bullying and their rights as a child. They also promote the role of learning mentor for vulnerable children
• Because primary children are often very interested in bullying, the teachers and mentors act out a bullying scenario and ask children for feedback.
• Children complete a feedback form and there is a box where they can post questions anonymously. At the end of the session these questions are answered.
• Children are given copies of a report and behaviour report forms and the system is explained to them.

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