Year 7
“Challenges are what makes life interesting,
Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”
Welcome to Therfield! We are so pleased to be able to welcome you to the Therfield school community and look forward to starting our 7 year journey with you and your family.
At Therfield we pride ourselves on providing bespoke pastoral care that puts the student at the centre of the support they receive throughout their time at the school. We know that this approach helps the transition from primary school to secondary school and supports students to become confident about this big change.
There is so much to get involved in during your time at Therfield. Therefore, the most important thing is to rise to the challenge of doing new things and get involved in the opportunities that are available such as clubs, educational visits and residential trips. Our ethos at Therfield is ‘The Best for All - Excellence, Leadership, Opportunity’ and Year 7 students will be offered opportunities to develop these skills on a regular basis.
During their first year at Therfield, students quickly get into new routines and are encouraged to develop independence, discipline, resilience and confidence. Every teacher at Therfield is here to support every student and will do everything in their power to help students make progress and experience success.
Each year, the tutor team and Head of Year play their part in supporting and guiding the Year 7 students as they grow in confidence. This is a privilege and a pleasure to see the way in which students flourish in their new school environment.
Please read on below to get a taste of what to expect as a Year 7 student at Therfield …
Peer Mentor Programme
A long-standing mentoring scheme delivered by trained Year 9 students known as Well-Being Ambassadors who support Year 7 students with the new demands of secondary school such as organisation, homework and friendships. An invaluable method of support for our Year 7 students who are supported by their peers.
We know that for every student experiencing challenges in school, be they academic or socio-emotional, there is an older student at Therfield who is well placed to help. Our Year 9 students are trained to act as a mentor and coach to the younger person and will develop a whole host of skills and habits that are crucial to their own success in school and beyond.
Smart Moves
This is a bespoke part of our tutor programme for Year 7, designed to promote the importance of wellbeing and aid the transition to secondary school. Year 7 can be a difficult time
for young people as they start secondary school, Smart Moves is a resource which equips students with life-long resilience skills – helping them to learn how to cope when things are tough.
Be Awesome
Be Awesome, Go Big is a package we have used to help Year 6 students transition into Year 7. This then forms part of the tutor programme in the first term to help a smooth transition and provides continuity for the students.
The resources are based on bestselling children’s books You Are Awesome by Matthew Syed and Go Big: The secondary school survival guide by Matthew Burton. Every student has been provided a copy of both books and our thanks goes to Therfield Trust in funding this (please click on the link to learn more about the wonderful support Therfield Trust offers to our school and students).
Student resources include sessions focused on:
- `Being Awesome’
- `Making the Change`
- `Bouncebackability`
- `Friendships and fallouts
Classcharts
Class Charts is a portal used by teachers, parents and students at Therfield and has iOS & Android apps. This software provides parents and students with up to date information on attendance, behaviour and homework.
The House System
Students are assigned a house on arrival to Therfield. Each house is named after National Trust sites from the local area; Juniper, Leith, Norbury and Polesden. Throughout the year students are invited to engage in competitions set by each subject, ranging from quizzes, challenges and sports tournaments, where students earn points for participation. Houses also compete for the best attendance and the highest total of positive Classchart points.
Year 7 trip to Cambridge
With high expectations on outcomes for students, we want to grow the ambitions our youngsters have for their education and their futures and nurture their aspirations by visiting Cambridge. Cambridge is a historical city that is centred around the 32 colleges that make up the university. Every year we have a number of students who go on to Oxbridge or other Russell Group Universities and we want to set the standard for our new students by visiting Cambridge in their first term. We take a chauffeured punt tour along the river Cam to see the 9 bridges and 7 colleges that are situated on the river, followed by guided walking tours of the city centre.
On our return trip, we visit Mountfichet Castle, where students explore the grounds and exhibits of Medieval life. An inspirational day not to be missed!
PGL
This is an action-packed trip where students will have the opportunity to take part in a variety of adventurous activities, challenge themselves and develop their teamwork skills. They will also get wet, dirty, have some thrills and have lots of fun! The trip runs in July as part of our Curriculum Enrichment programme and is a fantastic way to round off the first year of being at secondary school.
Quotes from current year 7 students
I have really enjoyed my first few weeks here at Therfield. I have joined the gymnastics club, which is so much fun. My favourite lesson is Drama and I also love the Canteen food.
Things that I have enjoyed the most are when we do Maths, English, Geography, Science, Food Tech and PE. I like getting House points and I also like French. I love seeing my friends at break and lunch and I really like the Pod and Canteen food.
I have enjoyed a lot of things at Therfield, especially the Cambridge Trip because the punting on the Cam was fun. I also like the Sponsored walk because I found it really fun walking with my friends. As well as enjoying sports clubs, I have enjoyed making new friends and meeting my new teachers who are extremely nice. Overall, I really enjoy Therfield!
I have enjoyed the first few weeks at Therfield. I have made new friends. I have learned new subjects and met new people. I have also enjoyed going to Board Game Club.
I so like the French lessons and Art because they are new subjects for me. And I like the food in the Canteen!
I really enjoyed my first few weeks at Therfield. We have done so many fun things including the Cambridge Trip, making new friends, joining clubs and learning new subjects. All the teachers have been really nice and supportive and give out lots of House Points
I have enjoyed the experience of going to Cambridge and learning all about the history there. The place was beautiful and when we went punting the sites of the colleges and the bridges were stunning. I have made quite a lot of new friends. Food Tech has been fun so far and I cannot wait to see what we do next. The sponsored walk was amazing because I got walk with lots of my friends and see all the countryside. Choir and Drama club are really nice things to do at lunch. The canteen food is DELICIOUS and I do not think I’m going to be bringing in a packed lunch ever again. All in all, Therfield is great and I love it here.
The things that I have enjoyed the most are that I have a lot of opportunities to make new friends and the Cambridge Trip and the SATRO Business Game day. I love how the teachers are helpful and it became really easy to find my way around because the teachers were all so kind and helpful. This school makes me feel included in everything. I really like this school.
