Cue Card # 81: When you moved to a new school

IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card # 81

Describe a time when you moved to a new school.

You should say:

• when it was
• why you moved to a new school
• how old you were then

and explain how you felt about it. 

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer:

Almost everyone experiences of going to a new school, at least once or twice in their lifetime, whether they like it or not. Moving to a new school is a big change for every child as starting all over again at a new school can be scary but at the same time, exciting and challenging to many. So today I would share my experience when I started attending a new school even though I did not like it initially.

I started my first elementary schooling when I was four years old at an English medium school in Dubai. I studied there for five years. After that, I had to move to a new school when I was just 9 years old in 1995 because of my father’s profession. To be exact, my family had to return to our home country due to the fact that my father’s work permit almost expired and he had been offered a better job position at a leading medical college and hospital in our homeland. So, within a few weeks, we moved to (… say the city name…), the capital city of the country and I admitted to a new school as a fourth-grader. 

At that time I was nine years old. Though my new school was an English medium school and the teachers were very friendly, I still felt startled and horrified because I was having a hard time adapting with the changes. I had to endure plenty of changes, process a lot of cultural differences and not to mention, the language barriers. However, I tried to focus on the positive aspects of moving to a new school. When I started my classes, I found out that my classmates were rather nice and helpful. I was excited to make new friends and my new school has a great sports team and an amazing drama programme. Slowly, I started to like my new school and the changes I experienced. I thought I was completely lost and depressed on the first day but with the help of my new friends and teachers, I stood confident and felt more comfortable in my new surroundings in my school.