It's important that before you start school, you know as much information as possible. On this page you will find information on the school, timetables, uniform and much more, including some tips on how best to prepare yourself. Our virtual tour will also give you a feel for what it's actually like a Rye Hills.

Little Fish, Big Pond!

When you start secondary school, you may feel like a little fish in a big pond. You will be the youngest in a big school with students much older than you. At first this seems worrying and scary. It won't last forever. It is true that whilst in Year 7 you will be the youngest, but that doesn't need to be scary.

How will Rye Hills Academy be different to my primary school?

Firstly, it's bigger!

Rye Hills is a bigger building than what you are currently used to, but don't worry, you will soon find your way around. Have a look at our virtual tour.

You will have your lessons in lots of different classrooms and will need to move from room to room between each lesson. This also means that you will have more teachers than you are used to as they are all experts in their different subjects.

There are more people!

There are approximately 900 students at Rye Hills and around 100 members of staff. At first, all these new faces may seem daunting.

At primary school you had a few people helping you to learn well and grow as a student. At Rye Hills there will be even more people to guide you through your secondary education. Your Form Tutor will be the person who you will see every morning and can talk to about any problems or ask questions you may have. You will find out which form group you have been placed in when you start in September.

Mrs Sands is our Progress Leader for Year 7. She is the person who will be monitoring your progress in lessons to help you achieve the best that you can. You will get used to Mrs Sands popping into lessons and looking at your classwork or talking to you about your progress in a subject. Mrs Sands' focus is on the academic side of your life in school.

Mrs Smyth is the Year Manager for Year 7. Her role is to provide pastoral support for your year group. Mrs Smyth will be taking an interest in your attendance and behaviour.

If you have older family who attend Rye Hills now or in the past, this is one of the new changes you will see.

Mrs Watson is the Director of SEND and her job is to check that students with special educational needs like dyslexia, autism or ADHD, have the support from teachers they need to achieve in school.

The Colleges

You have already received a letter from Mrs Watson informing you about which college you have been placed into. Currently, there are three colleges: Brunel, Shakespeare and Newton. Each college has a different coloured tie. The colleges will be competing against one another, a bit like Harry Potter. Whatever college you have been placed into has nothing to do with your class. Your class will be a mixture of students from each college.

On your first day in Year 7, you will be given your timetable for the year.

We have a two week timetable: Week 1 and Week 2. Above, is an example of a Week 1 timetable.

If you look at the first row, you will see that on Monday Week 1 this student has the following lessons: Registration (or Form Time), Maths, Drama, English, then double PE.

Each lesson is one hour long. Your timetable will tell you what lesson you have (e.g. Maths), the name of your teacher (e.g. Miss Corner) and the room your lesson will be in (e.g. room 216).

Rooms beginning with the number 1 are on the lower floor and rooms beginning with the number 2 are on the second floor.

Top Tips:

• Make sure you keep a copy of your timetable on you every day, so you know what lessons you have and where to go.

• Colour code your timetable so you can easily see what lessons you have. I have started to colour code the one above.

• Look at your timetable the night before so you can pack your bag ready for the morning. This will help you remember things like PE kit.

The Bells!

One big change from primary to secondary school is the sound of the school bell. This sound is to tell you that a lesson has started or finished, that break and lunchtimes are over.

There is a second late bell just before a lesson starts to tell you that everyone should be in class ready to learn. It is important to move safely, sensibly but quickly from lesson to lesson so you are not late.

The fire alarm is the same sound but unlike the normal bell it is a continuous sound and does not stop. If the bell sounds for more than a few seconds and does not stop, this is the fire alarm. You will be told what to do if this happens when you start in September.

At Rye Hills you will study a range of subjects from year 7 to 9. Every student will learn a modern foreign language, this year, all Year 7 students will be learning French as their language. Have a look here to see exactly what it is you will study and see some of the fantastic work that has been completed by students.