EDITORIAL: Help 11-Plus students successfully transition

Today, thousands of students across the island will sit the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE), commonly referred to as the Common Entrance Exam or the 11-Plus, signalling their transition from the primary phase to the secondary stage.

When it is all over, many students and perhaps even teachers will breathe a collective sigh of relief, for a weight would have been lifted. The pressure will be off, at least temporarily, for the weight of expectation will certainly surface again as students, their parents and teachers wait to hear of the Common Entrance Exam results, to be later released by the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training.

For the purpose of this editorial, however, the focus will not be on the writing of the Common Entrance Exam as a means of allocation to secondary school. There is enough debate on that at present. Rather, the focus will be on the transition process that sees students moving from primary to secondary school. Indeed, it can be argued that in some primary schools, great emphasis is placed on performance and outcomes, as it relates to completing tests, ahead of the big exam. While this is good to some degree, we need to see primary schools working to ensure that students can successfully make the switch from primary to secondary school. There should be some follow-up process to ensure that students have settled in well.

Making a successful transition to secondary school of course may be dependent on a number of factors – whether the student was able to get into the desired school of choice, whether parents are supportive of the child and working with him or her in the settling in process, whether principals and teachers at the new school have a system in place to welcome and assist newcomers, whether the newcomers make friends easily or are joined by some former classmates at the new school, etc. For some, the move will be a welcomed change. For others, it may be an intimidating process and a feeling of loss and unfamiliarity may take over, as the student now has to adjust to a whole new environment. Whatever the case, being able to stay connected to teachers, parents or friends from your alma mater, who continue to genuinely show an interest in your development as you grow, could prove helpful to those students making the jump to secondary school.

It is clear to all of us who have been there and done that, that secondary school is a whole new ballgame. While students may have been babied and coddled at primary school, they will now have to fend for themselves while taking on heavier workloads. They will have to rely on their best strengths to become well-rounded productive beings in a new student body. Issues related to the use and abuse of drugs, sexual relationships and promiscuity, bullying, violence, peer pressure, etc., will be present in a number of secondary school environments and children will have to navigate all these vices, while going through their social, emotional and physical development.

Of course, parents will have to step up to the plate and do their part to assist their children who are making this critical transition. Parents will need to monitor and follow up with their child from first form, onwards. Too many parents are relying on the school to do it all and this will not lead to good outcomes. That said, we wish all students who will be making that big transition this year, the very best.

Barbados Advocate

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