Advice from our current Year 7 students

Head of Year 7 Ms Martin asked some current Year 7 students for their advice to new Year 6 students who will be joining the Archer Academy in September.

Reuben, India, Ameena, Leo and Milo give you their top tips for Archer Academy success.

Top 5 tips:

  1. Just talk to lots of other people, smile and make a new friend.
  2. Be organised, pack your bag the night before and check Show My Homework every day.
  3. Give a good first impression to your teachers and don’t forget your homework.
  4. Try your best and have fun
  5. Use the VIP zone and school website to find out more before you start.

 

A typical week at the Archer Academy

There are a variety of different subjects each day and it’s different from primary school because you change classroom for each subject. At primary school, you finish at the same time every day but here we finish at different times on different days. Also, we have different teachers for each subject here, unlike at primary where you have the same teacher all the time. At secondary school you stick to your timetable for all lessons.

A change that you will encounter is that there is more homework at secondary school but you can use Show My Homework to make sure you are organised and hand everything in on time.

What are the teachers like?

The teachers are really kind and they have high expectations of us, so it feels like we are working to the best of our ability. It is more grown up and stricter than primary school. It is good having lots of different teachers and you get to know them all.

How do you find your way around the school?

In your planner there will be a timetable. On your timetable there are your lessons with your class room number underneath. It might say LS06, LF06 or LG0G

G = Ground floor

F = First floor

S = Second floor

If you get lost you could ask a member of staff or an older student. There are also two staircases, the up staircase and the down staircase. The staircases are one direction only so no accidents happen, also you will be able to get to your lesson quicker.

How to make new friends

When I started Archer I was scared and worried about a lot of things but my main worry was; will I make new friends and the answer is yes! When you get here, you realise everyone is worried and nervous about the same things. There are people you will click with and people you won’t.

My advice is talk to people, get to know them and you will make friends. It helped me to go to summer school, induction day and also when I got here to join clubs and activities. You will learn about a really cool thing called Enrichment where you meet and get to know your peers whilst doing an activity you really enjoy!

New subjects

In Year 7 you will be learning lots of new and exciting subjects. Some of which include: Art/DT, Dance, Drama, Music, Thematic Learning as well as your 5 core subjects.  We do lots more sports here. I have tried: tennis, trampolining, netball and rugby was my favourite.

Lots of Year 7s are very nervous about starting these new subjects but I can assure you that once you get to know your teachers and start to feel more confident, you will learn lots of new skills that will help you in the future. My advice is just to try your best, make a good impression and don’t forget your sports/CP kit!