Year 6 Transition 2025

We look forward to welcoming your child to Ash Hill Academy on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th July 2025, from 8:25 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Enhanced transition for selected students will take place on Wednesday 9th July.) This is a fantastic opportunity for your child to experience life as a student at Ash Hill Academy. All visiting students will spend two days taking part in a range of lessons, meeting teachers and new friends, and enjoying exciting enrichment opportunities.

The process of transferring to a secondary academy can be daunting, but at Ash Hill Academy, we do our utmost to ensure your child feels comfortable and familiar with the academy long before their formal education here begins. During Years 5 and 6, a number of enrichment activities are offered to all our feeder primary schools. These range from sporting competitions and Bake Offs to clay modelling and CSI workshops. We also host one-off events for younger students, mostly sports-related, but also including specific curriculum support, such as French workshops.

Once students have been offered a place at the academy, staff from Ash Hill begin liaising with primary school staff to ensure we are well informed about each child joining us in September. The information shared is vital—not only regarding your child’s academic progress, but also their social and emotional strengths, areas for development, and any special educational needs they may have. Consequently, by the time September arrives, the Student Support Officer for Years 7–9, the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), and the Vice Principal for Inclusion—working alongside primary teachers—will already have a clear picture of each child about to join the academy.

In addition, all students transferring to Ash Hill in September are required to complete Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs). These, alongside SATs results and primary school assessments, provide a comprehensive overview of your child’s strengths and abilities, helping us to place them in the appropriate academic set from the start.

All incoming Year 7 students will make several visits to the academy during July of Year 6. The purpose of these visits is twofold: firstly, to help students further familiarise themselves with the site and the staff who will be working closely with them through engaging and enjoyable activities; and secondly, to allow key staff at Ash Hill to introduce themselves and answer any questions students may have.

Each year, we continue to develop and improve our transition process based on feedback from students and parents, ensuring the best possible experience for those moving into secondary education. For more information about areas such as uniform, school day timings, and more, please refer to the Moving Up to Year 7 Booklet or other relevant pages on our website. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the academy and ask to speak to Mr. Goodwin, Year 7 Learning Manager, or Mrs. Quinn, our Transition Co-ordinator.

We want all new students and parents joining Ash Hill to feel excited and at ease. Our goal is to ensure that every student entering Year 7 is confident, happy, and enthusiastic about this exciting new phase of their life.

There are lots of differences between Primary and Secondary school when you first move up. However, there’s absolutely nothing to worry about! Our super friendly staff are on hand to help you out, you’ll meet lots of new people and fit in in no time.

Ash Hill Academy is probably a lot bigger than your primary school, but this just means there’s so much more room for activities. We have some incredible subject specific areas such as our top spec IT suites, our fully kitted out catering classrooms, DT construction and workrooms, music, drama, art, PE. We’re super spoiled at Ash Hill Academy to have so much space! But don’t worry, you’ll be navigating like a pro in no time!

In your first few weeks it’s normal to get lost or not know where to go sometimes. But don’t worry, staff will be on the corridors to guide you and you can always ask your current teacher where to go next before leaving their classroom.

Attendance and being on-time are super important. However, we know that in your first week or two, you might struggle to get from lesson to lesson on time. But you should always ensure you arrive at the Academy in plenty of time to make it to your first lesson, and ensure you leave break and lunch times early if you need to figure out where to go.

Lessons fit into ‘periods’, these periods are an hour long. Sometimes you can have ‘double periods’ this means that your lesson carries on across 2 periods of the day, meaning it is 2 hours long. 

Morning break is 15 minutes long, and lunch is 30 minutes. Break and lunches are split so you won’t be sharing the space or time with every year group. 

No. Just make sure you have a copy of your timetable at home so that you can prepare your bag the night before. Don’t forget your daily essentials such as your planner, knowledge organiser, reading book (this will be provided for you) and writing equipment. You will also help yourself by having a bag large enough to fit items such as larger A4 exercise books, water bottles and your PE kit. 

Not if you stay organised and keep on-top of what you need to do. Every day, you will be expected to study for around one hour. Home learning will be in three 20 minute parts:  

In addition to the above students may receive further home learning tasks on platforms such as GCSE Pod and Language Nut. These should be completed in addition to the above.

Your form tutor and year leaders will monitor the completion of your homework. We’re firm but fair. You will receive a reminder if you forget to complete your work, but this will be followed up with a detention if the work is still not completed. If you are struggling to complete your homework, you must tell someone about it or get help from the Library. Your class teacher or your form tutor would be best. 

Most students make it through school without getting a detention, and that should be your aim! However, sometimes things don’t go quite right, and consequences are issued. Detentions are most commonly for being late to the Academy or lessons without a valid reason, not submitting homework or coursework on time or causing a disruption to the learning of other students. Avoid doing these things, and you’ll avoid getting detentions! 

We have a fantastic range of different hot and cold food on offer each day for morning break and at lunch time, which you pay for using your fingerprint! But if you wish, you are welcome to bring a packed lunch, so long as it doesn’t contain prohibited items such as fizzy pop, energy drinks or chewing gum. 

You are not allowed to use iPods, phones or other devices in school (Unless they are a school issued tablet or laptop). If you do bring your device to school, it must remain switched off and in your bag from the moment you cross the blue line in the morning until you cross it again leaving at the end of the day. If you are caught using your device even at break or lunch time, they will be confiscated, and your parent/carer will have to collect it from reception. 

Yes. Your timetable will start on day 1, and you might have PE that day. 

There is a huge range of enrichment activities after-school from 2:30 until 3:30 for year 7’s to get involved in. These change throughout the year so there’s always something that sparks your interest.