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Tips for starting Year 8: 7 tips for making your child’s transition easy and calm

Tips for starting Year 8: 7 tips for making your child's transition easy and calm

It’s time to talk tips for starting Year 8. The end of the school term is fast approaching. In another couple of weeks, your child will be leaving their bright, colourful classroom and getting ready to embark on a new journey! There will be tears, butterflies in tummies but also lots of smiles and memories being made. And that’s just from you parents! By this stage, your child will have already gotten their Year 8 places allocated. Those long lists of school supplies have been sent out and induction events have been scheduled. So what can you do to help prepare your little ones for this big leap into Year 8? That’s what we are going to talk all about today! Hopefully, these tips will help your child jump into their new school with confidence, smiles and a bright new school bag! 

Before we get started on all things Year 8, I need to let you know about my brand-new book! Don’t let the title fool you because β€˜A Complete Guide on How to Prepare and Empower your Child for the SEAG Transfer Test,’ book includes a full chapter on how to prepare your child for Year 8! It also has a handy timetable template to help your child navigate all of those new subjects, extra-curricular activities and homework deadlines! 10% of all book sales will be donated to Cash for Kids NI which is an amazing charity which helps families from right here in Northern Ireland! So what are you waiting for? Grab a copy now! 

There are lots more tips for year 8 in my new book! Get yours now!

When will my child start Year 8?

The date when your child will first start Year 8 is something that you need to get on your calendar ASAP. Especially if you are booking holidays! The first day of Year 8, is not to be missed unless it is an emergency. The first day of Year 8 is when your child will meet their peer group, and their form teacher and get their timetable. Some post-primary schools will hold induction days in June where students can come and meet their peer group and have another tour around the school. Most post-primary schools go back at the end of August. So you can expect your child to have a start date anytime between the 23rd and 30th of August. The first day of year 8 can be a full day or sometimes the school decides to ease them in gently with a half-day. However, every school is different so triple-check your child’s school for the exact dates and times.Β 

Before we start on the tips for starting year 8, you might be wondering when your child will start year 8? Each school is different but you can expect your child to start anytime between the 23rd and 30th of August.

What do they need to bring on their first day?

Wake up early, have a hearty breakfast and put on that crisp new uniform. Following a first-day photoshoot in the front garden, it’s time for your child to head off for their FIRST DAY OF BIG SCHOOL! Your child’s new school should send them a checklist of things to bring on their first day. But if they don’t, I recommend bringing a notebook, pens, pencils, highlighters, a folder, a school bag and some snacks and lunch. During the first day or two, your child should be given their timetable for the year, school holiday list and a homework diary.Β 

Another question I will answer before we get started on our tips for starting year 8, is what does your child need to bring with them on their first day. You can't go wrong with pens, pencils, a notebook and some snacks!

7 tips for starting Year 8 

Starting Year 8 is a big deal. So many things are changing in your child’s life right now. They have left their primary school and classmates that they have been with for 7 or so years. They are now wearing a big heavy blazer that they aren’t used to and have hockey sticks, and big textbooks and might be getting a bus or train by themselves for the first time! I don’t know about you, but it’s making me anxious just thinking about it! So let’s talk about some ways you can help ease the stress of starting Year 8 for your child.Β 

Let's get started on my 7 tips for starting year 8!

Revise any tricky topics from Primary School 

The first of my tips for starting Year 8 is to do a bit of revision. There are probably a couple of topics that your child just could not get to grips with in Primary 7. Having a solid foundation of the Key Stage 2 English and Maths topics can really help your child enter Year 8 with confidence and with the skills needed to make this transition a bit easier. Year 8 will be fast-paced with new topics and friends. You can’t control how your child will take to these new things but what you can control is their understanding of the primary school curriculum.Β 

tips for starting year 8 number 1 is to revise any tricky topics from primary school.

What are the tricky topics?

Over the years, I’ve noticed that it usually is the same topics that come up on repeat. Some examples are decimal place values, percentages, fractions, ratios and probability. We won’t discuss algebra just yet…Oh what the heck, we may as well talk about it now. You’re probably already an emotional wreck that your child is all grown up so algebra can be the cherry on top of your emotional cake! Some Primary 7 teachers introduce algebra before the students leave primary school. Some don’t and that’s ok. But I’ve found that it is useful to do a wee bit of work on algebra over the summer to take away those scary feelings of this topic. The β€˜beginner’ version of algebra is those sums which have blank boxes or spaces where you have to find the missing numbers. It’s best to start with this before asking your child to find the value of a…

tips for starting year 8 tricky topics include decimal place value, fractions, percentages, probability, algebra and ratio!

Keep Reading 

During your child’s transfer test preparation and even if they didn’t sit the tests, reading was probably a big part of their Primary 6 and 7 homework. Your child might love reading, which will make this preparation tip easy for you parents! Or the thought of sitting down with a book makes them roll their eyes! So you might need to use some bribery if you get the dreaded eye roll or huffing and puffing! I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your child reading over the summer months. Year 8 English involves a lot of reading, analysing, interpreting and discussing books and poems. You can help prepare your child for this by discussing what they have read with them. It doesn’t matter if they are reading Charles Dickens or David Walliams, as long as they are reading!Β Β 

tips for starting year 8 number 2 is to keep reading throughout the summer months. Poems, books anything you can get your hands on!

Talk about the new subjects they will be studying 

Another of my tips for Year 8 is talking about the new subjects that they will be studying. You can’t control whether they will like the subjects or not but you can remove the sense of the unknown by talking about what each subject involves. For example, talk about Technology and Design and that this involves designing and making things from wood, metal etc. Talk about your school days and what subjects you loved most. Giving your child awareness of these new subjects, no matter how small that awareness is can give them a wee confidence boost.

tips for starting year 8 number 3 is talk about the new subjects that your child will be studying. This will help take away the unknown and get them excited.

Meet new friends 

If I could go back in time and tell 11-year-old Kerry not to put pressure on herself to make friends on the very first day of Year 8, I would. I remember crying on the way down to school on the first day of Year 8. I was the only Primary 7 that went to Hunterhouse from my primary school that year, so I knew no-one! Reassure your child that if they don’t make friends on the first day or the first week then that’s ok! They have time, there is no rush! Remind your child just to be themselves. Don’t change just to fit in with a group of peers on the first day of school.Β 

tips for starting year 8 is new friends. Have a chat with your child and let them no that there is no pressure to make friends straight away. They have lots of time to make new friends. It doesn't have to be the first day.

Bus/train routes 

If your child is getting the bus or train to their new school, I highly recommend taking the bus or train route a few times during the summer to help them become familiar with the bus/train route, the stops and where the closest place for them to get off the bus or train is for them. After a couple of weeks of getting public transport, your child will be a pro! But those first few days can be scary. I remember jumping on the pink, Metro bus and not knowing it didn’t go where I needed to go. I ended up panicking, getting off at a random stop and calling my mum in a panic! Of course, the phones back them didn’t have tracking apps or the function to drop a pin. So I had to describe my surroundings while my mum drove around trying to find me!Β 

tips for starting year 8 number 5 is if your child has to take the bus or train to school, a good idea is to take the bus/train route a couple of times during the summer so they feel comfortable.

Go stationary shopping

This is one of my favourite tips for starting Year 8! Stationary shopping! The stationary list for Year 8 will probably be the length of your arm! There are so many bits and pieces to purchase for secondary school. Say goodbye to the days of just buying pencils, erasers and colouring pencils. In Year 8, your child will need pens in different colours, usually blue, black, red and green. They will also need pencils, colouring pencils, highlighters, a ruler, a protractor, a compass, glue, Sellotape, Post-it notes, a scientific calculator, poly-pockets, folders for each subject and notebooks. And that’s before your child chooses a fancy new school bag and pencil case to match! Your child’s school should send out a supply list for the beginning of Year 8. But if not, grab the things I have listed above to start.

tips for starting year 8 number 6 is one of my favourite things to do...go stationary shopping! Your child's school should have provided you with a list of things to buy but if not use my list to get started!

Try on that new fancy uniform

Usually, when the post-primary school places are allocated in May, you will see a queue forming outside the school uniform shops. I know both you and your child are super excited about their new school. But your child is probably going to have a major growth spurt over those summer months. Go and give them a try on and check with the uniform supplier to see when the latest date you can place your order is. When it comes to purchasing school shoes, check with your child’s school which shoes they have in their uniform criteria. Some schools don’t mind as long as the shoes are black but some are very strict about this. So it’s best to double-check before making your purchase.

tips for starting year 8 number 7 is try on that new uniform! Even if you are waiting until your child has that summer growth spurt to order the uniform, take them to the shop and let them try it on to get them excited for this new step on their educational journey.

More information on tips for starting Year 8 

5 Strategies for Successful School Transitions

The transition from primary to secondary school

10 Tips for How to Prepare for High School or Secondary School

5 fun, memorable activities for your Primary 7 leavers

I hope your child enjoys their first few weeks of Year 8 and these tips help prepare them a bit better. Just like with transfer test preparation, following these 7 tips will help your child be as prepared as they can be for this next part of their educational journey. They may still feel nervous on their first day but that’s completely normal. Enjoy these last few weeks of primary school, make lovely summer memories and take photos of your child in their extremely oversized blazer! Don’t forget to share this post and tips for starting Year 8 with your child’s school friends to help them prepare too!

I hope that you enjoyed my 7 tips for starting year 8!

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