I am here to tell you about my transition from primary school to Deer Park. This school ticked so many boxes for me but my only worry was that Deer Park wasn’t in my area and I wasn’t at one of the primary feeder schools. I was so worried I wouldn’t get a place. The long wait was unbearable, but I was so happy when we received my acceptance email. One thing that didn’t worry me was joining Deer Park on my own; I knew I had made the right choice.

Deer Park puts a lot of effort into making sure your transition goes smoothly. Being the only pupil from my primary school, I was invited to attend the Primary Challenge Day. A day focused on making friends with pupils in the same position. I’d made three friends before first break.     

I also attended the two Induction Days at the start of July, where we got more familiar with our surroundings, teachers and most importantly where we went for lunch. I was lucky enough to be grouped with a Year 7 pupil called Cara, we instantly got along and we have stayed close friends since.

Although I was nervous on my first day at secondary school, I soon made friends in my tutor  group and we all stuck together to find our way around the school to our different classes. Within a few days I had learnt the school site and Pastoral Office, just in case I had any problems. Travelling from out of area I had a fairly long journey to and from school each day. Cara had remembered this and waited for me at the bus stop. I felt at ease straight away. She was always there if I needed any help or advice.

There are many after school activities and lunchtime clubs. Since September I have joined many school clubs, most of them are activities I have never tried before. Many clubs give you the chance to represent the school in matches, competitions and many events. I have been lucky to represent the school in Netball tournaments and Junior Choir at St John the Baptist Church Christmas Carol Service.

I can honestly say I have really enjoyed settling into my new school and can’t wait to see what Year 8 has in store for me.

I started and finished primary school at Chesterton, so I had no idea what it was like to move schools, let alone move to a secondary school. This meant I was scared of many things when I started, such as having new teachers and new classrooms for every lesson, being in a class with loads of people I didn’t know, being the youngest in the school, making friends, and most of all the amount of homework!

My first Induction Day was a very fun and scary experience, considering my friends and I got lost before the first lesson had even started! For the two Induction Days I mainly stayed with people from my primary school, but in some lessons we weren’t allowed to pick where we wanted to sit. This of course helped with making new friends. The Induction Days did help with getting to know my way around the school, but it was a very different experience to my actual first day.

Now that I’ve been at Deer Park for almost a year, I don’t think I am scared of any of these things anymore, well apart from homework! You get used to following a timetable and changing classes for every lesson, and you will get to make loads of new friends inside and outside of your tutor group. It may take a few weeks, like it did for me, but it will happen, I promise. Never be scared to join in with any of the clubs, sport events or school productions, it really does help to boost your confidence and make you feel more a part of the school. After I did the ‘Footloose’ production I felt more confident and settled.

At first it may seem that the teachers don’t really know you, and you don’t really know them. But it doesn’t take long for you to feel more at ease and comfortable around them. You see your tutor every morning and they will always give the information and guidance you need to help get you started. Although your teachers change, your tutor group doesn’t, so you will always have someone to help you. Never be frightened to ask for help.

I am going to tell you a bit about my experiences as a Year 7 at Deer Park. When entering this school I knew from the friendly atmosphere, the bond between teacher and student, and the amazing facilities that I had never seen in a school before, that this school was where I wanted to be!

From the start of school, it was only a matter of months before I had performed in the Winter Concert and had great friends who share my musical passion. Before long I had played in the Inter Tutor Group Hockey Tournament and the Spring Concert. One of the big highlights from Year 7 was the moving Private Peaceful trip to Belgium: we learnt so much about World War 1 and visited loads of amazing cemeteries and museums (not to mention we bought loads of chocolate!).

I am still looking forward to events such as Enrichment Week when we do water sports, visit @Bristol and loads more.

On my first day at secondary school I was worried about moving to a new school with a thousand other pupils swarming through the corridors all day, and I wanted nothing more than to stay at home. But now when I look back on that, thanks to the amazing Pastoral team, I moved my way through Year 7, participating in some incredible opportunities along the way. Private Peaceful in Belgium and ‘Head for Heights’ in South Cerney are some prime examples. Furthermore, the stability given to me from the Pastoral team gave me a brilliant chance to make friends that I am still close with today.

With Year 7 being a shorter year, we didn’t have much time to realise we would be in Year 8 so soon. In the last term we had a taster of the new teachers and their teaching methods. By then I was thoroughly getting involved with the ‘hands-on learning’ here, and the vast range of subjects to take part in, unlike in primary school.

Over the past few years I have been involved in the Spanish Exchange and the production of 'Footloose'. Even though I haven’t particularly struggled in my education, I have had ups and downs with my friendships. However, due to school’s helpful approach, in a mature way I have learnt how to help others struggling with friendships and establish the problems.

I just moved into Year 10 to start my chosen GCSE courses. I have already realised though that it is vital to concentrate in every single lesson because of how much text there is to embrace...

Even though it is challenging me, I am proud to be at Deer Park because even if I fall, I can guarantee that someone will pick me up if I ask. Try and try again because here you can achieve your very best because of the immense support supplied, as well as the contact made with parents to enhance your learning. A reflection of this for me was being awarded the Head Teacher's Award for Outstanding Achievement. I definitely agree that it is a scary change coming to secondary school, but here support is constantly supplied, allowing you to make this change a positive reflection of you and to be the very best you can be.