Grade 6 to Year 7 Transition

For enrolment in Year 7 2025 please refer to Transition processes and procedures click here

The move from primary to secondary school is another major milestone for your child. It’s a time of big changes in their development, education and life.

Secondary school covers Years 7 to 12, where students are usually aged 12 to 18. By law, your child must complete Year 10 and remain in some form of education or training until they are 17. Secondary school provides opportunities to challenge your child and to develop the valuable skills they will take into adulthood. Leaving primary school can be exciting and daunting, and there are ways that can help make this move as smooth as possible.

To help students adjust, primary and secondary schools work together to ease students through the transition period. Secondary students revisit their old primary school to tell Year 6 students what secondary school is like.

Your child will be in bigger classrooms and will be learning a variety of new subjects from multiple teachers. Primary schools work to help your child prepare for this different teaching method.

Many primary schools have a team of teachers working with Year 5 and 6 students to get children used to working with a range of teachers rather than just one. Teachers from Mount Waverley Secondary College also visit local primary schools to talk to the children about secondary school.

Mount Waverley offers learning environments similar to primary schools, for new students, to aid a smoother transition. We have a designated Junior Campus for Year 7 and 8 students to meet their specific needs.

As part of the transition from Year 6 to Year 7, students in government secondary schools participate in an Orientation Day. All government schools hold this Orientation Day on the same day – often the second Tuesday of December. This day may include a school tour, meeting fellow students and teachers, and taking part in special lessons and activities. Mount Waverley Secondary College also offers a Parent Information Night for new families and this is generally the night before the Orientation Day.

These transition programs between primary and secondary schools will help your child to quickly settle into secondary school life.

A simple guide to parents/carers seeking information on how to enrol their Grade 6 child in a secondary school:

The Department of Education (DE) provides government schools with a timeline for the Transition to Year 7 enrolment process.

When your child is in Grade 6, your Primary School will issue the ‘Transition to Year 7’ application form and information, late in Term 1 of the Grade 6 year.
Parents must complete this form, and then return it to your Primary School, by the due date.
Primary Schools will then forward all applications to the relevant secondary school in accordance with the Department of Education guidelines.
Mid-August is when families will receive notification from the Primary School, advising what secondary school your child has a place at, for the coming year.

Please Note: All communication is via your Primary School throughout this process and is different to the school’s enrolment process on a day to day basis.