Why should parents choose an all-through school over a standalone school?
As every parent will know, most children are incredibly sensitive to their surroundings, even if this manifests in subtle ways. The transition from a junior to a senior school after spending six of their formative years in the same place can prove to be very jarring. Suddenly having to adapt to unfamiliar settings, people, and routines can unsettle a child. Unfortunately, this most often also means a dip in productivity, performance, and enthusiasm, right at the beginning of Year 7, when students typically have to gear up for secondary education.
For this reason, there are education specialists who advocate for lessening, or doing away with, this transition as much as possible. Sure, you can always argue that children are tough, that they will adapt sooner or later—and they will eventually—but if there’s a way to smoothen this process, then all the better!
Another factor that all-through schools weigh heavily on is the familiarity that the school establishes with the student. It’s not just a matter of the child being used to familiar surroundings, it’s also a case of the school growing with its students, understanding individual needs on a deeper level, and being able to pass on this information to other staff as the student progresses through the years. This level of pastoral care comes in particularly useful for students with special educational needs; their individual concerns, requirements, and progress are passed straight up the ladder even as they move from primary to secondary level.
Thinking ahead, choosing an all-through school may well grant your child exposure to specialist training, too. Due to the nature of their teaching, most faculty staff at senior or secondary schools are subject specialists, while those who teach in junior schools are mainly primary specialists, educating across a broad range of subjects to primary-age children. The only classes taught by subject specialists at a primary level might only be PE and music.
With standalone schools, students will meet these two teaching styles in separate sections of their educational journey. In all-through schools however, junior school students will likely also have access to the subject specialists, which means they can experience the best of both teaching styles earlier on.