In recent years much research and analysis of data has been carried out regarding the perceived dip in performance by children in year 7 and particularly year 8 within the secondary school system.

This appears to be a national trend and not one peculiar to Kingswood High School.

There is no doubt that this dip exists but the reasons for it are not as clear to see. The dip obviously occurs at or not long after, most pupils transfer from the primary sector into the secondary sector. It also occurs at about the same time as the onset of adolescence and the changes this brings about in the physical, cognitive and social development of the child.

Research would suggest that the problem is a complex one and therefore possible solutions will not be straightforward or simple. Many different aspects of the child’s life in the first years of secondary school will need to be examined if the transition from KS2 into KS4 is to be handled in such a way that children are able to make the greatest progress with the least degree of trauma possible.

In many schools in the country, Kingswood High being no exception, the difference in the experiences children have in primary schools and those in secondary schools is huge and seems to be growing. Primary schools have undergone massive changes in recent years but this has not necessarily been the case as yet, in secondary schools, particularly in KS 3.

In his article "Taking the Tide at the Flood", Professor Michael Barber discusses these issues and possible solutions.

In his article he suggests three main factors which affect performance after transition, in what he refers to as the middle years of schooling:

In a search for possible solutions Professor Barber refers to "Crossing the River".

Maurice Galton, John Grey and Jean Ruddock describe five bridges, which Michael Barber says must be crossed if we are to be successful:

Before

Classrooms with bare breeze block walls, no carpeting, no fixed furniture or learning resources. Quite a bleak environment for learning.

The next steps must be to address the other main areas of concern. Strategies are already coming through, KS 3 literacy and numeracy, Curriculum 2000, Schemes of work for KS 3 and NGfL, are all with us now. Kingswood High School has already introduced the Accelerated Learning Programme in an attempt to improve the literacy and learning skills of its pupils. Successful integration of this programme into the school will also mean a change in pedagogy within the school. These are the first steps necessary in order to "Cross the River." Further and more radical steps are needed if the transition is to be made successfully. This will mean a review of all of the bridges described by Maurice Galton, John Grey and Jean Ruddock.

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A good primary school recognises that children:

The majority of these characteristics should be present in all schools irrespective of size or age of children. It should also be recognised by the secondary sector that the majority of people work best in a stable and structured environment, which contains some degree of challenge.

This approach would also help the ‘at risk’ groups within the school, SEN children, ethnic minorities, many boys from inner city areas and those able boys whose attitudes to learning decline after transfer to secondary schools. There is evidence to suggest that those pupils who, having ‘messed about’ and fallen behind are unable to improve even when they wish to. They then find it easier to give up than to try and make up for previous lack of achievement

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