The letters every Year 6 girl needs to read before starting secondary school

Starting secondary school is one of the biggest milestones in a young person's life. It's exciting. It's daunting. It's full of questions like “Will I make friends? Will I get lost? What if I don't fit in?”

For many girls, the move from Year 6 to Year 7 brings a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. While adults often offer reassurance, there is something uniquely powerful about hearing from someone who has just been there.

As part of our work with young women, we invited girls who had already made the transition into Year 7 to write letters to girls about to leave primary school. What followed was something incredibly special.

Rather than focusing on timetables, lockers or homework, these young women wrote about something much deeper. They wrote about kindness. Confidence. Worry. Self-belief. Friendship. Things that they wish someone had said to them when they were standing on the edge of this new chapter.

Words from girls, for girls

Across every letter, the same messages appeared again.

"You are enough."

"You're doing the best you can."

"You are loved."

"You are amazing just the way you are."

The advice wasn't polished or rehearsed. It was honest.

Some girls shared the little things that help when life feels overwhelming: listening to music, going for a walk, talking to someone they trust, cuddling a pet, spending time with family or simply remembering that tomorrow is another day. Others reminded their younger peers that nobody needs to be perfect, that asking for help is a strength, and that difficult feelings don't last forever.

Reading these letters, it's impossible not to notice something so positive. The girls aren't just encouraging someone else. They're reinforcing the beliefs they've been learning about themselves. Every sentence reflects growing self-awareness, emotional literacy and compassion, not only for others, but for themselves.

Creating space for confidence to grow

At The Juno Project, this is exactly why we do what we do. Our programmes create safe, trusting spaces where young women can explore their experiences, understand the beliefs that shape their behaviours, and develop the confidence to write a different story for themselves.

We don't pretend life is always easy. We acknowledge that it can be challenging. But we also help young women discover that they have agency, resilience and strengths they may not yet recognise.

When a Year 7 girl writes to someone she's never met and says: "I have enough. I do enough. I am enough." Or "You are perfect just the way you are," she isn't simply offering advice. She's passing on hope.

The power of peer support

There is something incredibly powerful about young people lifting one another up.

These letters remind us that kindness creates ripples. That lived experience matters. And that sometimes the most reassuring voice is someone only a year ahead, quietly saying: "You'll be okay. I've been where you are."

For the girls preparing to begin secondary school, we hope these letters offer comfort. For the girls who wrote them, we hope they realise just how much wisdom, empathy and strength they already possess. Because every letter answers the question that sits at the heart of our work: What are your gifts, and how will you use them?

These young women have already started to answer. They've used their voices to help someone else find theirs.