Credit: Lucy Pope for UCL IOE.

22 March 2025

By Jane Perryman and Sandra Leaton Gray

When researchers visit schools to ask young people about their experiences of moving up to secondary school, a number of recurring themes emerge. Pupils anticipate new uniforms, the chance to study new subjects in specialist classrooms, access to advanced equipment, opportunities to meet new teachers, join extracurricular clubs and form new friendships.

However, alongside this excitement, many also experience anxiety. Concerns about navigating a larger school site, managing increased academic demands, encountering bullying and struggling to establish friendships are common. Schools are well aware of these challenges and have long developed robust strategies to ease the transition. Liaison with primary schools, induction days and structured pastoral support ensure that by the end of the first term most students have settled in and adjusted to secondary school life.

Five years ago, however, this well-established process was profoundly disrupted. The Covid-19 pandemic meant that many young people arrived at secondary school with highly fragmented educational experiences, varying levels of academic preparedness and, in some cases, significant social and emotional challenges. As parents of sons in the suddenly disrupted Year 6/7 cohort, we wondered what we could do to help. In response, our research at IOE, supported by the UCL Coronavirus Response Fund, sought to identify the most effective strategies to support Year 7 pupils at that time. The recommendations we developed emphasised relationship-building over immediate academic catch-up, flexibility in routines, digital literacy training and a focus on physical activity and wellbeing.

What have we learned since?

Now, in 2025, we can reflect on which lessons have endured and what new challenges have emerged. While the immediate disruptions of the pandemic have faded, some of its effects linger, and the transition to secondary school continues to evolve.

The importance of relationships remains central

The past five years have reinforced that strong teacher-student and peer relationships are fundamental to a successful transition. Schools that prioritised pastoral care and community-building in 2020 have continued to see positive outcomes in student wellbeing and engagement.

Academic gaps were not as easily ‘plugged’ as anticipated

The expectation that knowledge gaps from school closures could be quickly addressed has proved overly simplistic. While most students adapted over time, the unevenness in prior learning persisted, prompting ongoing discussions about differentiation, mixed-ability teaching and curriculum flexibility.

Digital learning is now a permanent feature

The pandemic accelerated the adoption of virtual learning environments, and five years on, schools continue to use blended learning models. However, digital inequalities remain a challenge, particularly for students with limited home access to technology.

Flexibility in education is increasingly valued

Many of the adaptations made during the pandemic – such as hybrid learning, alternative assessment methods and more individualised support – have remained relevant. Schools that embraced flexibility in their structures have found themselves better equipped to support a diverse student body.

Wellbeing is no longer an afterthought

Mental health and wellbeing have become mainstream concerns in education policy and practice. Schools are now more proactive in embedding wellbeing initiatives into everyday practice, recognising their direct link to academic success and student retention.

Although not the focus of our research, the data also pointed to a significant effect on teacher professionalism. In the early days of the pandemic teachers were lauded and valued as key workers, and helped the national effort in new ways, delivering food parcels and providing welfare support to families, as well as learning new skills such as online learning. However, five years on it appears that this was a short hiatus: as responses to Ofsted’s ongoing consultation on its inspection reforms illustrate, many have been disappointed at the retention of high-stakes accountability regimes, seen by many as reducing teacher autonomy and agency.

Looking ahead

While 2020 was a moment of crisis, it also provided an opportunity to rethink long-standing assumptions about school transitions. Five years on, we are not simply returning to pre-pandemic norms but adapting to a new educational landscape. The emphasis on relationships, flexibility and wellbeing, first highlighted as emergency measures, has now become embedded in good practice. Our sons are now about to take their first GCSE exams. As mirrored in our research evidence, they lost out on their Year 6 trips, end of school assemblies and induction and preparation for life at ‘Big School’. But perhaps they benefitted from the more gradual transition of life in secondary school that for a while mirrored primary school, remaining in whole-class bubbles whilst teachers navigated the journeys between classrooms. We recommended and still support challenging the current time-space of secondary school transition with some small, carefully planned aspects of primary schooling for an interim period, while introducing opportunities to encounter secondary schooling at students’ pace.

As we continue to refine our understanding of what makes a successful transition to secondary school, the key lesson from 2020 remains clear: schools function best when they prioritise human relationships over rigid structures. The challenge now is to ensure that these lessons are not lost, but are used to shape a more inclusive and resilient education system for the future.