Bracknell

Around 300 Bracknell children from seven schools took part in the confidence building project designed to help them make the transition from primary to secondary school.

Research shows that some children find moving up to secondary school more challenging than others and this pilot project was trialled to find out how extra support before the big move can help.

Most of the children who took part will move up to Garth Hill College in September. They took part in a week of activities aimed at tackling questions about Garth Hill.

Bracknell Teachers supplied a series of clues and the children had to use their problem-solving and creative skills to find out the answers.

The week culminated in a special rock concert staged at Garth Hill where the children got to mix with some of their Year 7 peers who performed for them.

Abigail Hallworth, Consultant for Foundation Subjects, co-ordinated the project and said: "Taking the step up to secondary school can be daunting for many children so we wanted to test some ways of making that transition easier.

"This pilot project was aimed at getting Year 6 children to start preparing for the change, to get them thinking creatively about their new school and to introduce them to some of the older students."

Allison Fletcher, Assistant Director of Education, Children's Services and Libraries, said: "This is the second year that transition projects aimed at easing transfer to secondary school have taken place.

"Feedback from last year showed that it was a very enjoyable experience for the children taking part and they felt more confident when they started secondary school in September."

The schools taking part were: Harmans Water Primary, Sandy Lane Primary, Warfield CE Primary, Whitegrove Primary, St Joseph's RC Primary, Meadow Vale Primary and Holly Spring Junior.

Bracknell Forest Borough Council