Dear Pupil in year 4,

I'm a year 5 pupil, so I joined Marden Bridge this year and I know that it may feel scary and you may be worried, but everyone at the school is friendly. I came from Rockcliffe and I was put in a class with lots of my friends, so there were lots of familiar faces on the first day. However, moving to a new school is great because you can make lots of new friends and classmates as well.

I knew middle school would be a bit different because you have different teachers for different subjects. But all the teachers at the school are kind and lovely. It's good to have lessons in different rooms because you get to use special equipment, like keyboards in music, bunsen burners in science and all the art equipment. One of the good things about Marden is all the cool clubs like choir, football and netball.

Some advice for anyone coming to Marden would be it’s fun, so enjoy all the different things you can do.

Welcome to Marden Bridge!

From a pupil in year 5 (ex Rockcliffe)

Dear Pupil in Year 4,

I am currently a pupil at Marden Bridge Middle School in Year 5. I wanted to write to you to let you know that there is nothing to be worried about when you first come to the school.

Most of my friends from my old school, Rockcliffe First School, were coming to Marden but that didn’t stop me from feeling nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. It was somewhere big and new and I was unsure about how strict the teachers may be. However, I was excited at the same time to meet new students from other schools and make new friends.

After the first week, there were lots of after school clubs to join (hockey, football, netball, samba, orchestra, art club and many more) as well as lunch clubs (music drop in , english drop in and card club). I joined quite a few and made a lot of new friends and learned a lot of new skills.

My advice to anyone coming to Middle School is, if you have any worries don’t be afraid to talk to the teachers, as they are nice and very supportive. Get yourself involved in the clubs as they are really good.

Good luck and welcome to Marden Bridge!

A pupil in 5FL (ex Rockcliffe)

Dear year 4 pupil,

I am in year 5 at Marden Bridge Middle school and i'm writing a letter to you in case you are worried about going to a new school. I felt nervous about going to a new school because I thought that it would be very different from first school, some of my friends from first school were going with me to middle school but I knew I could make new friends in a different school.

When I first got to middle school there were older children (year 7) in the school who showed me where everything was. At break time we went on the backyard and at lunch time we went on the astro turf which is a giant football and other sports field which is sometimes used in PE but if not you go in an indoor sports hall.

Welcome to Marden Bridge.

A Year 5 pupil (ex Rockcliffe)

Dear Year 4 Pupil,

Today I’m going to tell you about moving to year 5.

The first school I went to was Rockcliffe First School. The teachers there are very nice and you don't change rooms like at Marden. The lunches there are nice but I personally don’t know because I never had school dinners there, I always had pack lunches.

I felt scared because I thought I wouldn't make new friends there. I also felt excited because it was a new school.

Year 5 has been amazing and fun. My favourite lessons are DT, ICT, Art and of course English. When I go to year 6, I will miss the teachers I might not get.

My favourite thing was seeing my friends. I have lots of friends so I love seeing them and I have one best friend for life that I love seeing too.

The teachers there are very nice they help you and explain things clearly.

Best of all, is that you get a long break and lunch. The dinners there are the best if you ask me.

From a pupil in 5FL (ex Rockcliffe)

To year 4,

My first school was Rockcliffe First School and it was a bit nerve-wracking moving, but it was ok in the end. There is no need to be scared. Try to think about all of the good things that could happen like new friends, new teachers and new things that will be fun and inspiring.

I was excited, scared and sad at the same time because it was a big school with lots of classes but I was fine. Even though I was sad because I did not want to leave my first school, I was ready for a change. There are some new classes like life studies, ICT which is computing, music and DT which is design technology. We have cool sports. Once we did bounce boards where you run and jump off boards which was great fun. You will still have swimming lessons during PE time. There are many after school clubs which are football, volleyball, dance, basketball and many more. I am sure you will find one that you like.

It has been a blast in year 5. It’s been one of my favorite years so far this is why. I have made some good friends and met lots of nice teachers. I think it is more fun moving from classroom to classroom. My favourite thing is my new friends and being part of the girls football club.

I love Marden, it is a very good school and I cannot wait to see you enjoying it as well. We have lots of cool stuff like bunsen burners and a big astroturf as a playground. There is a big PE hall and lots of other things and I will let you find out the rest yourself. I am looking forward to seeing you in September.

Pupil in 5CF (ex Rockcliffe)