A Derbyshire secondary school will be beating all records this year when it welcomes more children coming up from primaries than ever before.
The 1281-pupil Long Eaton School in Thoresby Road will see 224 students joining year seven in September.
The academy has agreed with the local authority a temporary uplift in capacity in order to take on so many pupils, who are coming from no fewer than 15 primaries – way over its usual five feeder schools.
School principal Richard Peel said: “It’s very pleasing indeed to see record numbers of year seven students joining us in September, especially considering the fact that overall, the demographic of current year six students is actually down.
“We’ve exceeded capacity this year, as we have for the last two years, and to achieve this we have worked very hard to create strong links with local primary schools. It’s very important that we make children feel as comfortable as possible in moving up from their primary to secondary years. It can be a very daunting time for young people, and especially so when one considers the impact of Covid and the disruption that has brought. That’s why we make a big effort to get out there and meet young people finishing their primary education, in the hope that we can reduce the anxiety they may feel in going up to secondary school.
“We have a fantastic senior pastoral lead at Long Eaton School, Ant Fox, who does a great job in reaching out to primary schools and making children feel very comfortable in joining us.”
Students from Sawley Junior School enjoying their transition day at Long Eaton School.
New students are joining The Long Eaton School from primary schools drawn from a wide area, including Sir John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy in Alvaston, Derby; Chaucer Junior School in Ilkeston, as well as Dovedale Primary in Long Eaton and Firfield Primary in Breaston.
The 10 and 11-year-olds have spent two transition days at Long Eaton School where they had the opportunity to experience a wide range of lessons.
Ant Fox, talking to the new year seven intake at the end of the transition days, told them: “You have been an absolute pleasure to have in the school. Well done for an outstanding two days. It has been fantastic. We are really looking forward to seeing all of you in September.”
Lyndon Box, who will be coming to The Long Eaton School from Firfield Primary, said he particularly enjoyed the classes in maths and IT during the two-day transition period, while Matthew Cooper, from Dovedale Primary, said he had enjoyed everything! “I just want to stay at Long Eaton School now,” he said.
The new year sevens will be starting their journey into secondary education on Friday September 2, a day the school has set aside exclusively for them to aid the settling in process.
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