Could drones become an important tool in helping primary pupils to get their heads around the daunting move up to secondary school?
One Scottish secondary has used a drone to help primary pupils familiarise themselves with the new surroundings they will encounter after the summer break.
The driving force behind the idea was a fifth-year student at Glasgow’s Bannerman High School, Danny Taggart.
?? P7s, this one is for you! As future S1s, check out this video of Bannerman, made by our very own Danny in S5 and Mr de Smith. It’s a tour of the school and a meet and greet. ? Filmed from above, you see Bannerman in a new way! #welcome #transition https://t.co/vS33jpGjA2
- BannermanHigh School (@BannermanHigh) May 17, 2021
Tes has previously highlighted that one of the biggest worries of pupils starting secondary schools is that they will struggle to find their way around and get to classes on time, having often gone to a far smaller primary school.
Other articles have underlined how problematic a poor experience of education transitions can be.
Drone video helps transition to secondary school
The Bannerman drone footage goes some way to demystifying the physical geography of the school. A voiceover accompanying some of the aerial shots in the 22-minute video - which also includes interviews with teachers - acknowledges that “Bannerman is a very big building, and at first you can sometimes feel lost.”
The voiceover adds: “Remember that although this is a big step, it’s one worth taking. And we are sure that once you have found your place in the school, you’ll never want to turn back. Everyone is in the same boat as you and we all know what it’s been like because we’ve been there before.
“We can’t wait to have you here and we look forward to seeing you in August.”
WATCH: How a teacher used a drone to bring maths to life
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Expert view: Are we getting lost in transition?
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Garrowhill Primary School, which will be sending a number of its leavers on to Bannerman High this summer, tweeted: “Well done, Danny and Mr Smith! Excellent and informative video to help our P7 pupils with their transition to Bannerman!”
English and media teacher Sam deSmith has provided some help with the idea but said that “it really is Danny’s project - I’m just an enabler”, adding that the school has “a strong culture of fostering talent with a group of dedicated ‘media makers’, who are, in turn, leading pupils in the lower school”.
Bannerman High has a large number of school leavers accepted to study university and college courses in film and media.
The coronavirus pandemic has created a number of difficulties in providing the kind of transition experience planned by schools in pre-Covid times.
This week, the easing of Covid restrictions in Scotland included explicit guidance about what this will mean for school transitions.
