Primary Links
Transition
We recognise that transition from primary to secondary school is a big step in children’s lives and so we work closely with our partner primary schools to ensure that the experience is as seamless as possible.
We are proud of the strong links we have with our partner Primary Schools.
Information for Year 6 Pupils
About St Matthew’s
Some Quick Facts!
This year, we have just over 1300 pupils at our school
Supporting You
We do lots to support you during your time at St Matthew’s, but in particular, when you start with us in Year 7.
Guardian Angels - To begin with your teaching group will be assigned a guardian angel. Guardian angels are responsible and friendly year 11 pupils who will look after you for the first few weeks. They will greet your group in the morning, take you to your lessons and pick you up in lesson change overs so that you don't get lost around the school. They will be keeping an eye on you and will be there to help you if you have any questions about the school
Journals - Each pupil will be given a school journal at the beginning of the school year. You will be expected to bring it in each day as part of your school equipment. The journal is used for many things, you will be expected to write your school timetable in there so you know what lessons you have and when. You will also write in any homework given, it can be used by your parents and carers to wrote in a note to school or be used by teachers to write notes for home. There are also many pages that will help with your base subject knowledge for many areas of school. You will only be given one to last you the whole year so you must take good care of it!
Finding Your Way Around – We have a map for you to study and get to know. It can also help you to plan your quickest route from one lesson to the next. As well as this, we have lots of signs around the building, near all the staircases, to remind you which subject areas are on which floor. We also have colour coded doors for each subject, to help you recognise where you are in the building.
St Matthew’s is a Catholic school
We celebrate Mass together as a community in our school chapel, and sometimes in the main school hall.
Priests from our local Catholic churches come to help us celebrate and the RE department work hard to give pupils the chance to connect with God during their time at school.
Each morning and at the beginning of each lesson you are invited to pray with your form group and your classes this is a special time of the day and should always be treated with respect.
As a Catholic community we work hard to keep the school close to the teachings of Jesus and the word of God. Your RE lessons play a major role in this but we also expect you to keep up the high moral standards around the school including outside of the school gates when you are wearing our uniform and being a representative of St Matthew’s. You should always show others respect and be willing to lend a hand if someone is in need - we pride ourselves on being well respected in the area and trust you to keep up the good work.
Expectations
We ask all of our pupils to follow these 3 instructions…
Respect your learning
Respect the learning of others
Respect any reasonable request made by an adult
Learning
At the beginning of the school year you will be given a timetable.
Many of the subjects you will take will be very similar to your primary school. The main difference is that where you are used to being in the same classroom with the same teacher from now on you will have a different teacher for each subject and you will have to go to a specialised classroom for each subject area.
Other Subjects:
There are a range of other subjects you will learn at St Matthew’s for just one or two lessons per week these include; Art, Design Technology, Drama, Music, Modern Languages, PE, Geography, History and ICT.
Each of these subjects are taught by teachers specially trained in these areas so you will be able to develop your skills much more than you could before.
Extra-Curricular:
As well as your timetabled lessons, there are lots of groups and clubs that you can join. We call these Extra-Curricular groups. Joining these groups is a fantastic opportunity to make new friends, get involved in wider school activities and gain new skills.
Form Time
Each pupil at St. Matthew’s has a Form Tutor, who will meet you each day for Tutor Time – this is first thing in the morning. Your Form Tutor is the key person for you throughout your time at St. Matthew’s. It is your Form Tutor who will help you through any difficulties, help monitor progress and encourage you to get the best out of school and achieve excellent outcomes.
On Friday mornings, you meet your Form Tutor in the school yard, and they walk with you into assembly. This is led by your Head of Year, or a member of the Senior Leadership Team.