100 things to do before leaving primary school

100 things to do before leaving primary school

Not long to go until the end of another school year for pupils and teachers across the UK. Before some our younger ones wave goodbye to Primary school, TES surveyed 2,500 youngsters to find out what they believe every child should have done at school before the age of 11.

Some of the answers are hilarious and reminds us why primary pupils are a joy to teach. Their sense of imagination and humour is second to none and it’s very reassuring to see that children today behave much as children have always done.

The top 100 included falling off your chair whilst swinging on it, kicking the ball over a wall, freak out when the alarm bell rings and calling a male teacher ‘miss’. The list also contains lessons to help improve one’s self such as learning to look after yourself, be caring and helping younger pupils at school. It’s also great to see some of the more traditional things are still on there like telling a joke, giggling during a sexual health lesson, throwing a custard pie at a teacher and laughing hysterically when someone farts.

TES editor Ann Mroz said that adult worries over youngsters' "disappearing childhoods" and "lost innocence" seem overdone. "We may think they are tested, tutored and drilled as never before but they seem remarkably resilient." "They love being naughty, playing pranks and getting up to mischief much as we did at their age." "And despite the ubiquity of mobile phones and tablets, they still like to splash around in puddles and construct daisy chains." She added: "I wonder if a lot of the anxiety over childhood today has more to do with adult projections and expectations than children's own concerns."  

The list in full:

  1. Call a teacher mum or dad
  2. Make good friends
  3. Tell the teacher to "chill out"
  4. Get covered in paint/mud/chalk
  5. Laugh hysterically when someone farts
  6. Take part in a school production
  7. Have a water fight
  8. Go swimming
  9. Be made to sit next to your enemy
  10. Forget your homework
  11. Have a nickname
  12. Do something silly and realise a teacher is standing behind you
  13. Laugh so much that drink comes out through your nose
  14. Throw a paper plane
  15. Fall out with a friend
  16. Take part in a sports tournament
  17. Draw a face on a rubber
  18. Go on a school trip
  19. Get a certificate
  20. Get told off
  21. Experience other schools
  22. Learn how to get on with everyone
  23. Invent something
  24. Make a fool out of yourself/embarrass yourself more than once
  25. Work with children from older year groups
  26. Grow some flowers or vegetables
  27. Fall off your chair when you swing on it
  28. Learn to feel confident in front of your class
  29. Be a leader of a group
  30. Feel like you can trust someone
  31. Raise money for charity
  32. Have a party in school
  33. Run a stall at a fair
  34. Teach part of a lesson to your class
  35. Make a best friend
  36. Take part in outdoor learning
  37. Forget you have homework until the day before it’s due
  38. Deal with a difficult situation
  39. Watch a film in class
  40. Have a pyjama day
  41. Take part in a class assembly
  42. Tell a joke
  43. Ride a bike and take cycling proficiency
  44. Pretend to be the teacher
  45. Have a huff and get in a mood
  46. Be in the local newspaper
  47. Kick the ball over a wall
  48. Fail so that you can improve on your mistakes
  49. Feel happy and safe
  50. Eat school chips
  51. Have a class pet
  52. Go to an after-school club
  53. Play "Heads Down Thumbs Up"
  54. Find out that you are good at something
  55. Find out about different cultures
  56. Be caring
  57. Discover your favourite author
  58. Take part in a special event
  59. Attend a school disco
  60. Create an exploding volcano
  61. Be part of a team
  62. Be inspired by a teacher
  63. Have a play day
  64. Make a card for a special person
  65. Fall asleep in a lesson
  66. Call a male teacher "Miss"
  67. Run round a corridor corner only to smash into a teacher
  68. Lose an item of clothing that does not have your name stitched into it
  69. Hatch chicks in an incubator
  70. Get to see inside the headteacher’s office
  71. Read a book on the grass on a sunny day
  72. Be kind to someone who needs a friend
  73. Run around in the rain
  74. Play conkers
  75. Make a daisy chain
  76. Listen to a ghost story
  77. Visit Santa in his grotto
  78. Go pond dipping
  79. Dress up for World Book Day
  80. Try different types of food
  81. Learn to skip
  82. Learn basic first aid and how to dial 999
  83. Film and edit a movie
  84. Have a pen pal
  85. Graze your knee in the playground
  86. Eat your lunch in the rain on a school trip
  87. Freak out when the fire alarm goes, secretly hoping it’s actually the real thing
  88. Help younger pupils at school
  89. Make up a dance routine in the playground
  90. Have your parents come to visit the school
  91. Get to spin on the teacher's chair
  92. Be sick in the classroom
  93. Laugh during sexual health lessons
  94. Have a wasp in the classroom
  95. Come into school with a new haircut
  96. Forget to write your name on your work
  97. Be sad to leave
  98. Learn to look after yourself
  99. Throw a custard pie at a teacher
  100. Giggle