Most often, we consider the move from high school to university to be one of the most trying times on a child and their family, but we forget that can be just as stressful on a teenager ¿ moving from middle school to high school.

"We call this the roller coaster ride because when they come to middle school the children are all over the place, finding themselves, meeting new friends, etc.," explains Zina Francis, guidance counsellor at Clearwater Middle School. "It's definitely a time where you have to jump in and say 'What do we do with these children, what direction are they going in?'. It's quite busy so if you really want to help them you have to be involved."

To help prepare students for their transition into high school on the academic side of things, the Department of Education has developed a Bermuda Career Planner, where students can write down their goals and plans in relation to their education and future careers.

"These planners give students a chance to actually talk about what they're probably not talking about on a regular basis, like why they're failing or how they feel they can do better," Ms Francis notes. "We start them off with questions that help us to get an idea of what they feel about themselves ¿ what their strengths are, or what characteristics they portray.

"Some kids don't ever talk about this and even forget some of the awards they may have received and some of those things could help them get scholarships, etc."

Ms Francis notes that a lot of students transitioning into high school will do so without a plan and those students tend to fall through the cracks, especially when they may be less academically inclined than their peers.

"Some children struggle in academics and talking to them now is good because you can find out what direction they're going in," she says. "In the public school system, the two high schools have different programmes ¿ CedarBridge has a more extensive programme for learning support for students that need modified programmes and Berkeley is still not there.

"Sometimes I have to explain to parents who think Berkeley is the only option that they may be doing their child a disservice if their child needs learning support."

In addition to meeting with the students to discuss their plans, parents are invited to attend the meeting to get an idea of what's going on with their children.

The planner also touches on occupational career goals in order to get the students thinking outside the box.

This portfolio follows the students through their high school education as well, with guidance counsellors taking control of them once the student leaves M3. The information allows whose counsellors to follow up with the student to make sure they're meeting the career goals they set out for themselves.

But one of the most important factors in the transition is parents.

"There's a part for parents as well," Ms Francis says, stressing that parents have the biggest role to play in their child's current and future education. "We may be mandated to do this but parents need to be more accountable for what there children are doing. It has to be a collaboration."

Community service plays an important role as well, Ms Francis says.

"I find children will want me to find them community service but I tell them I'm trying to get them to think outside the box, go outside of their comfort zone and meet people because that builds their interpersonal skills," she says. "Some of our students have so much potential but they never go out of their comfort zone, and it takes a while for people to realise, 'Hey, this child is brilliant' when they've been that way all a long."

As to whether your teenager is emotionally ready for the next phase of their life, it's all relative.

"I feel they can be. This is enough time, three years, for them to be ready. And if we continue to help them understand their goals, I think most students should be mature enough or emotionally stable enough to enter high school," she muses. "When do we say students aren't mature enough? If you keep behind them, the parents as well, it shouldn't be a problem."

But parents have got to be involved and have to have their own plan.

"It's not just school and then success," Ms Francis says. "I don't think that cuts it in the community anymore."