I went to public primary and private secondary. Many kids start in year 7 so your kids wouldn't be odd. The friendship groups always change dramatically at this time. It's not something that I would worry about to be honest.
Just my experience... but I went to the same school from P-12 and if anything, that was problematic for me socially. I was a pretty shy, anxious child in primary school and I felt that by year 6, I'd been pigeon-holed. This is who you are and this is your status in the social hierarchy. I always wished I'd gotten a chance to reinvent myself in year 7 like all the other newbies did. They just got to rock up and declare their hand as they saw it then. Nobody had any preconceptions and they tended to be more popular in many cases because they were new and interesting!
As a kid I went to a few different schools due to moving house and then went to the local school for high school (by then we were living in the country). My entire education was in the public sector.
I am now a teacher in a public school, so I can see things from that perspective too.
If it were me, I wouldn't recommend going to the same school all the way through. I agree with some of the above posters that changing schools at least once during schooling can be a good chance to 're invent' yourself. I see so many kids these days who can really benefit from a change after finishing primary school. This is especially true for those kids who seem to be given a hard time from others, they get a chance to start somewhere new and make new friendships.
Registered User
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks