Catherine: The schoolwork isn’t too hard to start with because the teachers are trying to learn more about you like what you are good at and what you need to improve on but after maybe the first week or few days the teachers set harder work. 

Bayleigh: Work can be hard but it’s fun too. I find the different lessons interesting. It is really strange at first because you’re expected to learn things and research yourself but it gave me a lot more independence and confidence.

Isabelle: The schoolwork can be hard but it’s all about trying new things and your teacher will happily help you if you get a bit confused. Remember I assume you will have been practicing for your sats and that is hard work, so when you get to school it seems quite easy.

Tilly: It depends on what set you’re in really. In set one, you’ll have harder work but it’s still fun. It’s also fun having different teachers and having each lesson in a different classroom. Some of the work is challenging but it’s a good sort of challenging that makes you think and gets you to work harder.

Catherine: I think everyone is scared on their first day especially as it is a much larger school and you are going from the oldest in the school to being the youngest but I was also super excited and once I got to know my way around the school and  made new friends everything became much easier.

Bayleigh: I was ready to leave primary school so I was pretty excited. I really wanted to learn some mad I.T. skills but found that I actually really enjoy history. It’s much better at secondary school. I’ve made loads of friends too, who came from different primary schools.

Isabelle: I was a bit of both because I was excited to go into my new lessons and make new friends but on the other hand I was nervous because I didn’t know my way round school. My teachers would help me and tell us where to go.

Tilly: I was a bit of both. I was nervous because I’m small and I thought people would pick on me (which they didn’t) but I was excited because I wanted to get out of primary and have new experiences. I was really excited to do drama, music, art and music.

Catherine: I don’t get much homework but occasionally teachers will tell you to research something for extra CFP’s or you will get set tasks. I usually get geography projects where you get to choose from a list of activities what to do then you hand them in to your teacher for marking.

Bayleigh: A  lot less than I imagined. We get Maths every week on Hegarty but other than that we don’t get much. Mainly research projects for history or geography.

Isabelle: It varies week to week and if you work hard at school in your lessons then you will not be expected to finish it at home, overall not a lot.

Tilly: It depends on what lessons you have. I get geography almost every week but it’s only a small task. I also occasionally get drama homework and history at the beginning of most terms.

Catherine: You can text parents but I don’t think you are allowed to call them unless it is for a medical reason, you need to have permission from the teacher in the room and you still might not be allowed.

Bayleigh: Yes, you can use your phone in the social room.

Isabelle: Yes, you are allowed to make calls to parents in forms and pastoral base. If you have not brought your phone or don’t have one but want to speak to your parents just head down to student services which is the reception and you can speak to them there.

Daniel: You can bring your phone but only allowed it in certain areas of the school.

Miss Douglas: Texting in the social room is fine but it’s not an appropriate place to make phone calls. However you can go to Miss Douglas’ classroom, Mrs Lee’s office or even your Form Room (with tutor permission) to do this.

Catherine: It is super easy to make friends and I am friends with pretty much everyone in my classes, it is also super easy to get along with the teachers. 

Bayleigh: Yes because everyone is at the same starting point as you. Everyone is nervous. I only came to the school with one of my friends in my form and by the end of the first day I had already made a few friends! The teachers and students are really friendly.

Isabelle: It is really easy to make friends because naturally you will talk to people and you have to work in partners for some lessons.

Tilly: It’s really easy to make friends if you just talk to people and then you’ll find that there will be a lot of people that you have things in common with.

Daniel: I made tons of new friends and a lot of them like Lewis and Nevan, my two best pals, we all had our own friend group and we all supported each other.

Catherine: I learnt my way around school really fast and if you look on your timetable it says what  room to go to plus you can just ask a teacher or student.

Bayleigh: Yes, faster than I thought I would because it’s a big school compared to my primary. Once you get to know the floors it’s easy.

Isabelle: Instantly, because the teachers helped us round. I remembered the lessons on each floor and I just got used to it.

Catherine: There is almost always a member of staff near you but if there isn’t ask the students around you or go to the stairs and look on the sign near the door to see what rooms are on which floor.

Bayleigh: There is always a member of staff around but if you can’t find anyone then go to the SPM office and one of them will help.

Isabelle: If you get lost and can’t find a member of staff I would recommend walking down to the canteen area because there is always staff in the canteen and a dinner lady outside.

Catherine: What I like most about TGA is the PE lessons, they are super fun, you get to socialise at the same time and the gym equipment is really good and safe. I also love the canteen especially as on Fridays you can get chicken nuggets and chips along with fish and chips.

Bayleigh: PE, history, Mrs Lee and Miss Douglas and food from the canteen!

Isabelle: The thing that I like most about school is the staff. They are just so kind and considerate towards the students and will help you with anything you might be worrying about.

Catherine: If you tell the club teacher in advance that you are going to get a snack then you can go but if you forget to tell the teacher before you go even though they might still say yes it is worth telling them before so they don’t start without you.

Daniel: Yes you can you can just bring a pack lunch or buy some food from the canteen!

Bayleigh: I usually take packed lunch but sometimes get pizza from the canteen. I do this before break time club so that I can eat it straight after, before lesson.

Isabelle: Yes, you can and in some clubs like dance they will give you a fast pass, which means you can skip the queue so that you can do your club

Catherine: The food is really nice and there is a wide range of food for everyone, they sell hot and cold sandwiches every day and they also sell cold drinks, make your own salad, sweet treats and different foods every day.

Daniel: They are cooked to a good standard and the cooked food is nice and warm ready to be eaten.

Bayleigh: I only eat the pizza or hotdogs and they are nice.

Isabelle: The food is great, you can have things like wrap, chicken burger, pizza, salad and also every day there is a main meal.

Daniel: The food tastes amazing!

Catherine: There are some sporting activities available as well as music lessons, you can finish art projects some days of the week, book club, Nintendo club, performing arts, where you do musicals and plays, dance, drama  and a few others. One club I do is netball, we are looking for more girls to join so if anyone is interested go to Miss Croson and ask for the dates. (she is a Pe teacher).

Daniel: There’s football, rounders but that might be for higher years (teachers will know) and there’s activities during the day like dodgeball.  

Bayleigh: They also do clubs at break time, I like to use the gym equipment with Mr Boucher.

Isabelle: After school activities that are available are: Netball, Football, choir, dance, drama, textiles, chess club and more.

Catherine: TGA is a really nice school the teachers and students are friendly and it is a safe environment. A top tip would be to get involved! What I mean by this is join the clubs, join student council and make a wider friendship group with people who are not in your year. 

Daniel: The main top tips are don’t get in bother during class, it’s very tiring when going up and down stairs all day and just don’t sneak your phone out in class it’s not worth it. 

Bayleigh: Just concentrate in lesson then have fun at break time with your mates. Learn where the SPM office is on bottom floor because that is where you will go if you have any problems.

Isabelle: At TGA it is really fun and my top tip for a new starter is DON’T WORRY!!!.

There is no need to worry because everyone is there to help you.

Catherine: The thing I like least is the queue for the canteen as it can get crowded with everyone going to get food but the teachers manage that and send people who push to the back of the line.

Daniel: It’s hard work but I still have to get it done.

Bayleigh: There’s not much I don’t like, I just wish the gym was open on more days because it’s open to year 7 on a Friday and that’s when my mates play football so I don’t get to go sometimes. It would be cool if it was open after school too.

Isabelle: When people don’t behave in lessons, yes they are removed straight away but it is just disturbing other peoples lesson. You might not care but other people do so think about that.

Daniel: I worked out that both breaks are 30mins long.

Bayleigh: Long enough.

Isabelle: They are both 30 minutes long you might think that’s not long. But that time gets taken off at the end of the day so we leave at 3pm instead of later and that gives you time to do things after school.

Catherine:At the start of year 7 I was a bit nervous but  I was also excited and worried. I was extremely excited and I joined with my best friend which made it easier to have fun.

Daniel: Well when I first started I felt amazing that I was moving up a step in life but very nervous of how people were going to act but yet I have made it through year 7 and it was an amazing journey!

Bayleigh: I felt okay, I had my best friend from primary moving up with me so I wasn’t really scared and knew people in other year groups already. I had been to open evenings so it was familiar and had met some staff.

Isabelle: When I first started year 7 I was nervous because I only had 3 people come up to school with me and two of them I did not hang around with but I instantly talked to people and made new friends.

Catherine: My favourite subject is PE because I am a very active person and if you do well at pe you can become captain of teams and you can also be chosen to represent your team in events like cross country. I am a captain at TGA which means you get a badge to put on your blazer, I have also been chosen for a cross country event and the dodgeball event.

Daniel: Mine was english because of how my teacher was super kind and caring and very calm about if someone misbehaved

Bayleigh: I really like history, PE and science. I like to keep fit. I love learning about the history of the world especially BLM currently, I really enjoy science –    mainly learning about animals and evolution.

Isabelle: I have more than one favourite subject, I like art, DT and English because the teachers are so kind and I love to draw and make things.

Catherine: I have only met the head teacher once and she was super nice but from all the videos I have seen she seems really nice all the time.

Daniel: The head teacher is really nice and kind so there’s no reason to be scared.

Bayleigh: She seems nice. I haven’t spoken to her properly but she’s been ok in assemblies and stuff like that.

Isabelle: The head teacher is so kind and funny and always available for you to talk to her if you need

Catherine: I think it is natural to be scared but there is nothing to worry about and if there are any problems or issues you can go to your parents, teachers, friends, new friends, student council (me) and you can also go to our anti-bullying ambassadors.

Daniel: You should never be scared to move up to a new journey in life especially year 7.

Bayleigh: No. Don’t be scared and treat it like a new adventure.

Isabelle: You should not be scared to move up to TGA because everyone there has been in that position and everyone is nice and friendly.

Catherine: If you are late for the first few days it won’t be a problem as long as it is only once and you apologise to your teacher, if you get lost ask anyone on the corridor whether it is a teacher or student, if there isn’t anyone go to the stairs and look on the sign on the wall to help you find your way.

Daniel: If you do get lost and you are late for class then you won’t get in trouble at all and what to do when you’re lost is to make your way to the bottom floor and find Mrs Lee or Miss Marshall. They will help a lot!

Bayleigh: The teachers expect you to get lost during the first couple of weeks so you won’t get into trouble. The teachers wait outside their classrooms so lots of them to help if you do get lost. Plus the SPM’s are on the bottom floor – as long as you can find your way there you will be  fine.

Isabelle:When you first start you will not get into trouble for being late to lessons because you are finding your way round still.

Catherine: I hope that was some help!