Transitioning to High School

Our graduating children, at the end of Year 6, transition to a range of different high schools including private, public and selective.

This transition to high school can often be a time of some concern for parents as they wonder how their child will cope with the change to a very different environment to our Montessori school. However, what we continuously hear from the students when they come back to visit and the parents of our graduates is that our Montessori students cope with this transition remarkably effortlessly. And this is not surprising. Our curriculum covers all the indicators and outcomes of the National Syllabus and indeed goes beyond. Our students have been responsible for organising themselves throughout their school life. They have an intrinsic desire to get their work done and learn without being told to do so.

They are socially comfortable, have strong leadership skills and have the capacity to work with others in a collaborative manner.

However, despite our children being well prepared for the transition, we do help with a few additional actions. In their last term in Year 6, the graduating students are given the task of creating an autobiography of their life and reflect back on who they are, their values and hopes for the future. This is set as a ten-week homework project to be completed in the evenings after school. This gives the students an idea of how to organise themselves for the following year at high school.

We also have many conversations about the transition and what to expect, for example that they will not have the freedom to move freely around the school. This culminates with a morning tea with the Principal.

Montessori Year 6 students.