Moving on from primary 7 to first year can be daunting for many new high schoolers. Going from being the big fishes to minnow. We met 6 new first years and got them to tell us their experience so far.
Caoimhe McCann told us “I was just nervous in general about everything because I’ve never actually been up here for a tour.” This was an unfortunate result of the pandemic as primary 7 students moving on to high school usually get days to visit the school so they aren’t coming into this new experience completely blind.
Ellie Smith actually gave a surprising answer saying “Walking one way is easier.” This was unexpected as a lot of people have found it difficult but for new pupils this is a good thing as they aren’t fighting their way through crowds. Anthony Lamarra another new comer also agreed that this system can be good as the “building layout is confusing”.
Olivia Kelly said with a laugh “I’m nervous to ask for help in case they send me the wrong way.” Sadly this can occur if you ask a mischievous senior who is looking for a bit of a giggle but the majority of the time pupils are happy to help.
All the students had good things to say about the teachers and subjects. “Really nice and enjoying they work.” In social subjects they are learning about North Korea and Impossible places. Expressing that the teachers a very helpful and make sure you know what you are doing.
Double periods don’t usually come into the secondary school experience until 4th year but due to Covid they have been introduced to S1 to limit movement and increase social distance. Andrew Irving stated “It’s good for classes like art” He describes it as a positive as you can get more work done which means less homework.
