Goodbye primary school, hello high school

Oct 6, 2022

**Future looks bright:** Bourchier Street Primary School Year 6 students Chase Sullivan and Ella McLennan are both excited and nervous about going to secondary school. Photo by Gabriel Garcia

It’s that time of year again, when Year 6 students say goodbye to their old primary school lives and begin the transition to secondary school.

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For Bourchier Street Primary School students, it’s a journey with mixed emotions.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunities we get at high school with the camps and the work experience, and probably lots of the learning in different subjects,” Year 6 student Ella McLennan said.

Next year Ella will move to Goulburn Valley Grammar School.

Opportunities, especially in the library, were front of mind for fellow classmate Chase Sullivan, who will continue his education at Greater Shepparton Secondary College.

“We have a very big library at the new high school,” Chase said.

Ella and Chase are just two of the 86 Bourchier Street students who will enter secondary school in 2023.

Both are enthusiastic at the prospect of starting high school, if a little nervous.

For Ella, there are questions about the amount of homework she will get while for Chase, it is the reality that a new school means making new friends.

There is also sadness at leaving the friendly staff and students at the primary school, which was like a second home to them for the past seven years.

Assistant principal Patrick McMullan was upbeat about the futures of the school’s graduating students.

Like all teachers, he was feeling a mixture of sadness and pride at the departure of students he helped nurture over the years.

“With all our Grade 6 students, we are going to miss them when they’re moving on, but it’s always exciting knowing that we, as teachers and staff, have had a big impact on their learning and lives,” Mr McMullan said.