From the Head of School

Transitions

A photographic memory isn’t a superpower; it’s a curse.  The mind’s kindness is to let certain events slip from the grasp of recall, so memories of them no longer trouble us.  

I still have a general sense that the start of secondary school was not my childhood’s peak year.  My primary school had been so small and friendly: the entire school was smaller than the secondary year group I moved into.  I went from having one teacher who knew me well to eight passing me around, taking the first half term to learn my name.  By my last year of primary school, I had known my classmates for years; in my first year of secondary, most were strangers.

Those feelings are not unique to me or to the 1980s.  A recent report by Professor John Jerrim found that one in four pupils in England ‘disengage’ when they move up to secondary school, with enjoyment, trust and a sense of safety all declining.  The report also found that pupils increasingly lose a sense of agency as they progress into and through their next stage of education. 

At ISA, we recognise that 11 year olds have quite different needs to 18 year olds, and that we shouldn’t expect them to fit into the same routines and the same kind of relationships without a lot of help and support.  That is why we divide our secondary years into a middle school and a high school.  Each with a distinct approach.

Things will be different for the current Grade 5s when they return in August but not too different.  Just as before, they will have specialist classes for the arts, PE and languages.  Instead of one teacher for the ‘core’ of English, social studies, science and maths, they will have two, but just like their Grade 5 counterparts these two teachers will specialise in just one level.  Their other teachers are middle school specialists, committed to and experienced with this age group.  Just as before, their teachers will really know and care about them, understanding that they teach children before they teach subjects.  

Grade 5s will also find a classroom layout that reflects the friendliness and choice they learnt to take for granted in Elementary.  Unlike me, they will not have to move to another building, and won’t be overwhelmed by lots of new names to learn.  They will stay at ISA with so many familiar and comforting things.  

There will be challenges -  with new courses, new teachers just as adolescence is beginning to hit.  But the challenges will be well supported in a safe and high trust environment.  I am sure they will have a lot more they will want to remember than they hope to forget.  

Some of the activities our Grade 5s will enjoy as they move to middle school: