Plympton Academy helps primary school pupils with creative challenge

The transition from primary school to secondary is a big step even in pre-coronavirus times.

But for this year’s cohort moving from Year 6 into Year 7 it’s more like a giant step but one that teachers at Plympton Academy are doing their very best to make as smooth as possible.

All schools across the UK closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic leaving Year 6 pupils not knowing if they would ever step inside their primary schools again.

“This year is certainly a challenging one for every primary and secondary school across the country,” said Plympton Academy Principal, Lisa Boorman. “Usually Year 6 pupils who have got a school place with us would be coming in for taster days, meeting the teachers and pupils and looking around the school. But of course this year it’s very different.”

To support the transition from primary to secondary school, Plympton Academy has been sending out newsletters to parents, introducing key members of staff, as well as competitions for the students to take part in.

The first competition was the Loo Roll Challenge set up by Head of Art and Design, Maria Romanski.

“We had some amazing entries,” said Plympton Academy Head of Year 11, Jim Strachan. “I had the enviable task of picking the top three which wasn’t easy as the standard of entry was incredibly high.”

The Academy plans to run more competitions and as the lockdown eases and more students can return to school there will be further information available for parents of current Year 6 pupils.

“Our aim is to make the transition from primary school into Year 7 as easy as possible,” explained Lisa Boorman.