The Positive School Culture Project

For students starting secondary school (ages 11–13) Part of the Positive School Culture Project — sharing research to help students, teachers, and schools create better experiences of starting secondary school. Starting secondary school can feel exciting, but it can also feel uncertain. Some students quickly feel comfortable in their new school, while others take longer to find their place.

For students starting secondary school (ages 11–13) Part of the Positive School Culture Project — sharing research to help students, teachers, and schools create better experiences of starting secondary school. Starting secondary school can feel exciting, but it can also feel uncertain. Some students quickly feel comfortable in their new school, while others take longer to find their place.

For teachers and school staff Part of the Positive School Culture Guide for Teachers/School Staff: What students’ experiences of Year 7 can teach us This series shares insights from research exploring how students experience the transition to secondary school, and what these experiences reveal about how Positive School Cultures develop through relationships, expectations, and everyday classroom interactions.

For students starting secondary school (ages 11–13) Part of the Positive School Culture Project — sharing research to help students, teachers, and schools create better experiences of starting secondary school. Starting secondary school can feel exciting, but it can also feel uncertain. Some students quickly feel comfortable in their new school, while others take longer to find their place.

This site currently contains two research guides: Starting Secondary School: A Guide for Students (Year 7 Transition) Articles exploring belonging, friendships, school rules, and the experience of starting secondary school. The Positive School Culture Guide for Teachers and School Staff  Research-informed reflections on how positive school cultures develop through recognition, fairness, and everyday classroom interactions.

For students starting secondary school (ages 11–13) Part of the Positive School Culture Project — sharing research to help students, teachers, and schools create better experiences of starting secondary school. This post is the first in a short guide for students starting secondary school. Starting secondary school can feel like stepping into a completely new world. The buildings are bigger. There are more teachers. The timetable changes. And suddenly you are one of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of students instead of being one of the oldest in your primary school. Because of this, it can sometimes feel like school culture is something that already exists before you arrive — something created by teachers, rules, or traditions.

What the Numbers Showed About Year 7 After listening to students in interviews and reading journals, I created a questionnaire. Over 500 students completed it. This helped me see patterns in the answers. The questionnaire looked at four main areas: How students manage the school environment and rules Friendships and identity Lessons and teaching Learning and academic growth Here is what the results showed: 1. All four areas are connected. Belonging, learning, friendships, and teaching are not separate things. They work together. When one improves, others often improve too. 2. Most students experience school positively — but not in the same way. Some students feel very confident socially but find lessons harder. Others enjoy learning but struggle with friendship groups. There is no single “normal” experience. 3. Small differences can matter. The data showed some differences between groups of students. This reminds us that schools need to think carefully about fairness and inclusion. Whe...

What I Learned From Listening to Year 7 Students When I started this research, I wanted to understand one big question: What makes a school feel positive when you first arrive in Year 7? To find out, I spoke to Year 7 students and read the journals some of them shared about their first weeks in secondary school. You told me about your experiences — the good parts, the tricky parts, and the confusing parts. Here are some of the most important things I learned: 1. Belonging really matters. Feeling like you fit in, having friends, and knowing someone notices if you are there (or not there!) makes a huge difference. When students felt they belonged, school felt better. 2. Teachers make a big impact. Students talked a lot about teachers who were kind, fair, and clear. When teachers explained things properly and treated students with respect, students felt safer and more confident. 3. Knowing the 'rules of the game' helps. Secondary school has lots of new systems — timetables, classr...