Our current Year 7 pupils found moving to secondary school a very exciting and positive experience. They have written some letters and comments to tell you all about life in Year 7 at Caludon Castle and the many things that there are to look forward to.
Dear Year 7
My name is Faith. You may know me from visiting your school during the transition visits to speak about what it is like moving up to Caludon Castle.
I bet your nervous, I was too. It’s good to be nervous, it shows you care. During the first few weeks, you may feel scared but there are so many people who can help you including teachers, studnets, year leaders and your tutor. They are all there for you.
Moving up to secondary school, you meet so many new people. You have so many new experiences and so much fun.
All the lessons are so different to primary school. For example, in science, which is one of my favourites, you do so many practicals.
There are lots of rewards at secondary school including fun days, trips, house events and assemblies.
I hope your journey in year 7 is as good as mine and I wish you luck in this big journey. Enjoy every moment. Take pride in yourself and your work.
Be happy.
Good luck in year 7
Faith
Hello new year 7’s
When I started I was nervous.
My first day was fun getting to know my new teachers.
Getting around was interesting for the first few weeks but soon I learned my way to my lessons.
What I enjoyed about this year was the trips. I went to see an orchestra.
A challenging aspect was some of the new work but the teachers were very helpful.
A piece of advice I would give is to not be afraid to ask teachers for help.
Good luck on your new year!
Dear future Year 7,
Hello there, my name is Lauren and I am from 7.4. On your first day, going to senior school for the first time can be a very nerve-racking and a stressful experience, but once you have arrived to the front of the school building and have lined up in your new tutor groups (which is given to you by a number which is from 7.1-7.9) you meet your new classmates and your form tutor.
Everything may feel hard to do but don’t worry as the teachers are very supportive and kind and can always help you out on where you are going or any other problems you have. You only have to ask. When I first started Caludon, it was hard for myself as senior school isn’t like primary school as it’s much bigger and there is a lot more pupils and classrooms and I found it difficult for me to find out what classrooms I needed to go to and also the times for each lesson but once I got the hang of everything, the next couple of weeks became a bit easier as I started to know what to do and where I needed to go. We were given a timetable card from our form tutor which I really did need and I kept safe in my blazer pocket. Once I received this, it was very helpful for me to find the classrooms I needed to go to and to find my way around the school.
There are tons of things to do at Caludon (which are optional depending on if you are wanting to do them). For example, sports clubs, music clubs and homework clubs if you are needing help and support with your homework. You may even get an opportunity to represent the school (e.g. doing a sport and having the chance of compete against other senior schools).
Also, the school has a school choir, which I attend myself. The school gave me the opportunity to visit the Royal Albert Hall in London to take part in the ‘It Takes a City’ performance with hundreds of other schools which was a marvelous experience for myself. All clubs are sent out in an email to your parents/carers which encourages pupils to take part in something they like or have an interest in and it is a great way of making new friends.
If you are nervous and find it hard in making new friends, you can always go to the Phoenix Suite on the first floor in the corridor to the citizenship classrooms and it is a nice calm place where there are board games, gaming consoles and iPads to go onto for homework which gives you the opportunity to meet other pupils from any year if you wish to. Never feel pressured in having to fit in with everyone, just feel comfortable with yourself.
School life can be a big thing if you let it but never feel afraid to talk to your year leader if you have any problems or issues or worries in school or out of school as your problems are always kept confidential with them.
The school has just been given a new house system which your tutor group will be in. The houses being Smith House, Maddison House or Devonish House depending on what number your tutor group is. The names of the houses were chosen because of former pupils which have been successful in sport such as James Maddison, Marlon Devonish and Rachel Smith.
Thanks for reading this, hopefully you feel comfortable about joining Caludon Castle School now in September and you never know, I might meet one or two of you around school or in one of the clubs myself.
Kind Regards,
Lauren, 7.4
Hi, I’m Hannah
I’ve been asked to write to you, to help you get through any worries you might have.
When the school year starts you’re probably feel worried and excited at the same time. I know that’s how I felt anyway. On my first day I was quite worried about what was going to happen who I would meet and all things like that but I learned after a few weeks of being at Caludon that you don’t need to.
Something that might being worrying you is that you won’t make any friends, I thought that to but, I was put in a tutor group with a few of my friends but not ones that I was closest with at the time. And at the start of the year I was quite annoyed and upset about who I was with. However, the tutor groups have at least 25 students in so there are plenty of people to make friends with.
Personally, I was not worried about finding my way around but I know some of my friends were. But there is the ground floor, first floor and second floor but it’s all pretty much the same layout so there are not many places to get lost in. But I’m sure if you did get lost or can’t seem to find your next room then a member of staff will help you.
All I can say is be yourself, don’t let anyone make you do anything. Best of luck!
Last year I was nervous about starting secondary school. I worried about how I would find my way around and just sad about leaving my primary school and my teachers behind.
On my first day it made me anxious at first but then after that day I knew my way around and knew everything I needed to know. I was no longer anxious about it.
In the first few weeks I got to know my way around, teachers’ names, what to do and when. I started making new friends and getting to know my tutor and enjoying every day. Each day had interesting lessons and a good day.
What I have enjoyed this year is the interesting lessons and how in a lot of our lessons we do practical work, like making things, experiments and other things. The lunch times have been fun with nice food and being able to play football. Sometimes during the summer, we are allowed to go on the big field. In P.E I enjoyed doing a variety of sports and enjoyed learning to play an instrument in music.
At first it was challenging but the people around me helped. It is completely normal to be anxious about your first day but after a week it will seem less scary. My advice to you is just do your homework, be on time to lessons and you will be ok. You may know that we have tests throughout the year but they are usually just a few questions or we just have to write a paragraph. Don’t worry about detentions and punishments, teachers give you lots of chances. Don’t worry about homework, you don’t get too much and it only takes normally about 10-20minutes.
Hope you have a good time at your new school!
Dear Year 6,
My name is Alfie, and I was in tutor 7.1. This letter will reassure you ready for an exciting experience. Also, this will show you what a fantastic year you will have in year 7.
Some of you may fear starting year 7. I was worried about joining year 7 but once I looked through the website, I was fine and ready to start the year. I always looked at the website everyday before I started year 7. On my first day at Cauldon I was worried but then the staff were really nice and took us on a tour of the school and told us how stuff works in the school.
My first few weeks at Cauldon was good. I found my way around the school quick and learnt my timetable so I knew where I had to go. The lessons were good as well. For example, in science we used Bunsen burners and in IT we were learning how to make logos on the computers, which was fun!
I have enjoyed the year but there was thing that stood out. The thing that was best for me was in IT when we had to make a movie and it could be on anything like sports, pets and even food. I done mine on Rangers FC which is a football club in Scotland. I do support Coventry City for all of you football fans. I thought the topic was good and fun and I think my movie went well.
Once, I had literacy and I couldn’t find my classroom, so I asked a teacher who helped me and shown me where it was. So, if you are stuck and don’t know where to go then ask a member of staff and they will help you or a person walking by that could help you.
For me, my advice would be to stay out of trouble. And on your timetable, you will have classrooms like F22 the F stands for first floor. Also, you will have a classroom like S25 and the S stands for second floor. And finally, you will have something like G10 and the G stands for ground floor.
Hope you have a great year in year 7.
Alfie 7.1
Hi, my name is Jasmine and I’m writing this to talk about my transition into Caludon Castle from year 6 to year 7 last year.
Before I started at Caludon I felt nervous and worried but because of me reading some of these letters that the previous year 7s had written it reassured me about things I was worried about. On my first day I was scared and anxious but once I had met my form tutor and my tutor group I felt like they were all my family because I was able to get to know them all and communicate with them really quickly.
My first week in Caludon was good because on the first day we were given a tour of all floors and classrooms, we were also given our timetables which had the room number and floor of the lesson we had which made it much easier to get around. Overall my first week was nerve racking, fun and exciting. Through this last year I have enjoyed studying French, English and PE because I feel like I have expanded my knowledge in both French and English, but I also picked PE because its different to a lesson in a classroom and its enjoyable. When I find something challenging, I normally try and find a way to understand it but if not, I ask my peers and teachers.
My advice for everyone is if something is bothering or worrying you don’t be afraid to speak up because I have learnt that it’s better to tell someone than keep your thoughts and emotions in and my last piece of advice is that you should just be yourself and make sure you have a good first impression because that’s where everything begins. Thank you
Hello I’m Cameron and I’m a student in 7.9.
Some of you will be really excited, however some might feel anxious, worried or scared about leaving what you’ve always known behind. That’s completely fine because here at caludon they make moving schools seem like normal.
When I was in year 6 I was so excited because I was so bored of the same thing and I needed a change, a good change. But I was also feeling really nervous aswell. At first my first thoughts were, how big the school is. I originally thought I would get lost but staff members will help you with that and make it really easy for you. If your worried about being split up from your friends, don’t worry, Caludon will try to put you with all your friends to make your journey at Caludon a lot easier. I found Caludon really cool and thought about it like the next chapter of my life, almost like a book. But what I do is never place your bookmark in one place and leave it there because then you will never learn and never know what you like or not.
One thing for me is Art, I absolutely love art. 100% my favourite lesson but I have never realised how much I loved art until I tried it. That’s all and I can’t wait to see you at Caludon. Bye.
Hello new year 7. I am Wiktoria and in 7.4..
Last year at this time I was scared and worried about my new school. I wasn’t sure how I would get to school or if I will have any friends there. I was trying not to think about this before summer.
On the first day I was kind of excited and nervous at the same time. I didn’t know what to expect on the first day of my new school. I was so glad when they did a tour around the school. It gave me a visual picture of where I should go for a specific subject. I was relieved because at the beginning the school looked like a maze! On that day I met my tutor and my classmates, we were all shy and we didn’t talk too much because none of us knew each other. We were all quiet.
After few weeks I was more confident with the way around the school. I knew where my lessons were and where to go. I memorised my timetable too. I most enjoyed meeting my new friends and getting on well with them. The lesson I enjoyed the most was English because my teacher was very nice. One of the challenges was you have to be very sporty to move around school to get to the lessons on time. Believe me there are lot of stairs, so be prepared.
Please do not stress yourself, be brave, keep smiling and be easy going. I’m thinking of you.
All the best Wiktoria