I decided to sit down with (or, rather, phone) the individual members to get an insight into their thinking, their visions, and their expectations of the year ahead. It was a truly eye-opening experience, and I’m thrilled to present the outcomes of the discussion with Josie, the School Transitions rep.
As a new student [joined for Sixth Form], what has been the hardest about joining a new school?
-I’d say adapting to a completely new environment – everything was completely different to my old school. Adapting on top of that to Sixth Form, which is very different to main school, too, and thinking – how am I going to get over these differences? But you do get there in the end. Before I started, I was quite worried about making new friends, because last time I moved was in Year 7 – and five years is a long time with the same people. I feel like I’m at a stage now when I’m established, but it was quite daunting to come in knowing nobody. It changes without you realising, and then you look back and think “wow, I actually did that”.
What kinds of plans or ideas do you have for the year ahead?
-I came from a state school, and I definitely think that it would be great to look into more state-inclusion, and the funding aspect of joining. I really do think that there are ways to appeal to people from different backgrounds – I mean, bursaries are an amazing thing, and I would love to have some conversations about our options – are we able to offer more, and how do we go about offering them? Hopefully we can open it up a little more. Also, to lead on from Tawana’s work on more representation within the school. Another thing I noticed for those joining for Sixth Form and making friends is that the mixing of the year group is so reduced from GCSE, because you take fewer subjects and the classes are smaller, so you don’t organically speak to a lot of people. And coming up to random people in the common room is quite daunting! So, I’d want to look at ways of mixing people in a non-awkward way to help them get to know each other better.
Do you have any wisdoms for joining a new school?
-This is probably a little more applicable to Year 12, but I’d say keeping an open mind when meeting new people, because by Year 11, you have your friend group and a certain type of friend that you’re used to – but friendships can be very unexpected. Don’t be afraid to move out of your comfort zone. Also, build relationships with teachers! If you feel comfortable talking to them, that can make such a difference.
