5 ways we support mid-year joiners at King’s InterHigh

Had a challenging year at mainstream school? Relocated abroad? Simply looking for a better fit for your child? Whatever your reasons for making the change, we’re open for enrolment all year round.

Of course, we know that joining any new school mid-year can spark questions: “Will my child be able to catch up on missed lessons?” “Will it be hard to make friends at this point in the year?”

Concerns like these are natural, but there’s no need to worry. Our warm and welcoming approach to the online school transition supports your child with everything they need to get settled in and feel a sense of belonging no matter when you enrol.

Read on to find out five of the ways we support mid-year joiners here at King’s InterHigh.

A welcoming induction

We understand that the first day at a new school sets the stage for your child’s experience going forward, so we make sure new students don’t have to jump in at the deep end. To get their transition off to a smooth start, your child will start their first week at King’s InterHigh with a welcoming induction session.

We hold multiple induction sessions per week, so no matter when in the year you join us, you and your child will get a personal welcome. These sessions are led by your child’s Head of Year, who will guide you both through an orientation. Your child will get to meet their year group head and any other new students learning alongside them as well as learn how to navigate our school.

There’ll be lots of opportunity for your child to ask questions if they want to, as well as time to explore the student hub independently before they start lessons.  We’ll share helpful walkthroughs so your child knows how to join their classes, submit tasks, and more — plus, there’s a special induction for parents and caregivers too.

To make it all stick, we use fun quizzes and tasks (not unlike those in our virtual lessons) to check that students feel prepared to navigate King’s InterHigh and dive into lessons with confidence.

Lesson recordings for catch-up

If you’re coming to King’s InterHigh from a different programme of learning — for example, your country’s local curriculum or different GCSE and A Level exam boards — there’s no need to worry about your child falling behind.

We have lots of options for getting stuck into learning at King’s InterHigh. All our live classes, for example, are recorded and shared on our school platform, and your child will have access to all recordings from the current academic year no matter when you enrol. Many new students like to review some of these lessons to catch up on any topics they’ve missed, all will the benefit of their expert teachers’ explanations and resources.

Of course, if the thought of months of lesson recordings sounds daunting, remember your child doesn’t have to review them all. In fact, your child’s new teachers will be more than happy to talk through which areas to prioritise. Plus, there are more ways to get help with topics your child needs more knowledge in — like our drop-in subject support clubs, for example.

Co-curricular activities to make friends 

Beyond academics, our exciting co-curricular programme is a big part of student life at King’s InterHigh. It’s also a great opportunity for students who join us mid-year to make new friends and get social.

All new King’s InterHigh students are assigned to one of our school houses. These houses are smaller, tight-knit communities within our global student body. We have lots of house events students can participate in to earn achievement points, giving your child an incentive to dive into our community activities.

On top of this, we also run over 100 clubs each year, covering a huge range of interests. Clubs run termly, but your child can jump in whenever you join us (and you’ll even be able to access recordings of past club sessions!). If your child is feeling a bit nervous about meeting new people, joining a club where everyone shares their interest (be that anatomy, Harry Potter, or horses) can make it much easier to open up and get to know everyone.

Support from day one

Personalisation and support are two of the pillars of our school, so it’s important to us that we know how to best support your child’s learning from the get-go. One of the ways we kickstart that process is with baseline testing.

While the word “test” may give some students pause, rest assured that these aren’t exams your child needs to study or prepare for. Our baseline tests are world-respected assessments designed by Cambridge to show your child’s strengths and aptitudes. Depending on your child’s age, we may look at their reading, vocabulary, maths, and non-verbal reasoning skills among others.

These online assessments are adaptive, which means they match your child’s level as they work through the test. Our teachers then look at the results (which you’ll be able to see too in the Parent and Carer Portal) and combine those data points with individual attention to get a full picture of your child’s background.

This is great for mid-year joiners, making sure we can start nurturing your child’s unique potential even while their teachers are still getting to know them.

Plenty of helpful resources

Last but not least, note that help doesn’t stop with our inductions. From our guidance booklets for parents and carers to our hub of video walkthroughs, you’ll have resources you can turn to every time you need a refresher or added insights. You can even watch our start-of-year welcome presentation for your child’s year group whenever you join us.

And, if you want more one-to-one guidance on any concern, our staff are readily available to help. If you have unexpected tech troubles, for example, you can get in touch with our technical support team. A quick email can connect you with your child’s teacher or Head of Year for academic and pastoral questions, or you can book a call with them to discuss your queries in more depth. We also have a dedicated family liaison team who are on hand to assist you with our school platform, lessons, assignments, and more — during the adjustment period and beyond.

Talk with us one-to-one

Changing schools mid-year is an opportunity to transform your child’s education journey for the better, and we’re here to support your child through the transition and beyond.