Moving from primary school to the first year of secondary is a big step, for your child and for you. A new school, new teachers, a new timetable: everything changes within a few days. Here are five tips to help your child get off to a good start in secondary school and find their rhythm in the very first weeks.
What changes in the first year of secondary?
In primary school, your child had one class teacher who followed them all day. In secondary, they have a different teacher for each subject, often change classrooms and must manage a busier timetable on their own.
The most visible changes:
- several teachers, each with their own expectations and instructions;
- a school planner to keep up to date themselves, with homework and tests due on different dates;
- more tests, and exam periods depending on the school;
- a sometimes longer journey to school, and more independence expected.
In French-speaking schools in Belgium (Wallonia-Brussels Federation), the common core curriculum (tronc commun) has reached the first year of secondary since September 2026. The separate “differentiated” first year has been abolished: pupils who did not obtain their CEB (the primary school certificate) now join the regular first year with everyone else, receive extra support and are awarded the CEB if they pass the year. All first-year pupils also have periods of personalised support in their timetable.
These measures are being introduced school by school. The start-of-year meeting and the class teacher are the best sources to find out how your child’s school organises them.
1. Prepare your child mentally
Talk with your child about what lies ahead, before the school year starts and during the first weeks. A change that is talked about in advance is less frightening than one that simply happens.
- Visit the school together if there is an open day or a welcome session for first years.
- Make the journey once before the first day, especially if your child will take public transport alone.
- Ask what worries them, and what they are looking forward to: a new subject, new friends.
A few nerves are normal. Tell your child that most pupils feel the same, and that the first weeks are precisely the time to find their bearings.
2. Help your child get organised
Organisation is often the biggest challenge of the first year of secondary. Subjects do not become harder overnight, but there are many more things to manage at the same time.
A few simple habits to set up together:
- The school planner: check it every evening, and write down every piece of homework and every test on the right date.
- Filing: one folder or divider per subject, to find notes and worksheets again when it is time to study.
- The school bag the night before: packing according to the next day’s timetable reduces morning stress and forgotten items.
- A place to work: quiet, tidy, with everything needed close at hand.
At first, do these checks with your child. Then let them do it alone, keeping an eye on things now and then. The goal is for them to become independent over the year, while you gradually step back from the organisation.
3. Build good study habits
In secondary school, doing homework is no longer enough: pupils also have to study, review their lessons and prepare for tests in advance. For many children, this is a new skill.
- Set a regular time for schoolwork, at roughly the same hour each day.
- Encourage your child to spread studying over several days rather than leaving it to the night before.
- Teach them to start with what is due tomorrow, then with what takes the most time.
- Remind them that they can ask their teachers questions when they have not understood something.
If your child struggles to get organised or does not really know how to study, support with study skills can help them pick up the right habits from the first term.
4. Encourage involvement in school life
Feeling good at school makes it easier to commit to it. If the school offers clubs, sports, a choir or a workshop, encourage your child to sign up.
These activities give your child a chance to meet pupils from other classes, discover new things and find their place. This is especially helpful when they arrive at a school where they know few people.
For your part, stay in touch with the school: read its messages, attend parent evenings and feel free to contact the class teacher or the pastoral staff if something worries you. The school’s PMS centre (the psycho-medical-social guidance service of French-speaking schools) is also there to support pupils and their families.
5. Look after their well-being
A tired or stressed child learns less well. School days in secondary are often longer, and adapting takes energy.
- Sleep: regular bedtimes, and screens off before going to sleep.
- Food: a proper breakfast and a snack to get through the morning.
- Exercise: regular physical activity helps release tension.
- Listening: take time to ask how their day went, without turning every conversation into an interrogation about marks.
Watch for signs that last: ongoing tiredness, refusing to go to school, stomach aches in the morning, withdrawing into themselves. If you notice them, talk about it with your child and with the school. Our article on the child who does not like school offers ideas to understand what is going on.
First results: how should you react?
First marks in secondary school are often lower than in primary. This is common and not necessarily worrying: your child is discovering new methods, new expectations and new types of assessment.
Look together at what went well and what can be improved. Value effort as much as results. If a difficulty keeps coming back in the same subject, it is better to act early than to wait until the end of the year: the CE1D, the external exam at the end of the second year of secondary in French-speaking schools, builds on foundations laid from the first year.
A helping hand to get off to a good start
At My Sherpa, an educational advisor listens to your needs and chooses a suitable coach for your child, for private tutoring in secondary school at home anywhere in Belgium, or online. Depending on the needs, the coach helps your child get organised, understand a subject such as maths or prepare for their first exams.
