THE prospect of leaving primary school to join secondary school can be daunting for 11-year-olds.

Instead of being surrounded by a familiar group of friends and having the same teacher for all of their classes, they are suddenly trying to find their way around a large building, getting to know lots of different people and being taught subjects they have never experienced before.

The transition from primary to secondary school can be the most vulnerable time for children. They feel they have nobody to turn to because they are not as familiar with the staff at their new school.

However, thanks to a £250,000 initiative, a team of educational experts is now on hand in Bolton to make the change as problem free as possible.

The "Transitions" team, which includes a teacher, education social worker, child psychologist and a family practitioner counsellor, have been working on a pilot project with Smithills and Sharples secondary schools and their feeder primary schools.

The team has targeted pupils in the final two years of primary school and the first two years of the secondary schools to find out their concerns and come up with solutions for making the big move a happy one.

Many of the primary schools already run peer mentoring schemes with the older pupils counselling the younger ones. That has made it easier for the transitions team to introduce their work.

Transitions team leader, Carole Anderson, said: "The most common concern is that the children are going to a new building and it's much bigger than their primary school.

"Instead of walking to it, they're quite likely to be travelling by bus and that can be a big worry.

"They all worry about making new friends.

"They even worry about getting their teachers' titles wrong because they're not used to saying 'Sir'.

"Their parents are often just as worried about the move and we're hoping to work with them just as closely.

"The parents panic because they're used to popping into primary school without having to make an appointment and are suddenly faced with different bureaucracy."

The transitions team adapts its approach if a primary school asks for specialist help, but as most of the children express the same concerns, they have split the project into issues such as transport, school uniform and acceptable jewellery, the change in subjects, timetable, homework, making new friends and who to turn to if they have problems.

Mrs Anderson, who has been a teacher for 27 years, added: "Not only do the kids have to get to grips with being taught by so many different faces, but they also have to get used to a different hierarchy with heads of year, heads of department, deputy heads and so on.

"We liaise with the secondary schools to get a clear idea of who is in charge of what so that the primary school pupils know the structure before they arrive."

The primary school children are encouraged to share their concerns in group discussions, and they also receive a visit from pupils at Sharples or Smithills who have been trained to become mentors and will be recognisable faces for the newcomers.

Sharples and Smithills also send out internal maps of their schools. Although the team is dealing mainly with the move from primary to secondary school, they will also be helping youngsters in the pilot schools who have other "transition" issues, such as moving house, bereavement or divorce.

The project is already proving such a success since starting in September that further money has been found from the Children's Fund to ensure Transitions runs in Bolton for at least four years and will be extended to other secondary schools and their feeder primaries.

Sharples Secondary School already runs a peer mentoring scheme with its pupils working closely with youngsters at Sharples Primary School thanks to help from Bolton's Bully Free Zone organisation.

However, the head Kevin Clarke has welcomed the opportunity to increase the links with the other feeder primaries.

He said: "This is an excellent way for the primaries and secondaries to work in genuine partnership.

"Pupils joining secondary schools tend to hit the ground running and there is no time for them to settle in.

"But the transitions work creates an easier move for them and means joining secondary school isn't such a shock.

"The pupils' needs are genuinely addressed and their potential can be realised."