For many students, the high school journey begins in ninth grade. For a handful of students, however, high school starts a year earlier, mainly for the purpose of fulfilling advanced math requirements. 

According to the District 86 Program of Studies, if a middle or junior high school is not able to offer advanced coursework for a student, the student can attend their designated high school, Hinsdale South or Central. As an eighth grader, I took Geometry Honors at South. And with this came some very unique experiences that have greatly impacted my last year of middle school.

One of the biggest advantages of attending South a year early is having a year to prepare for the transition from middle school to high school rather than having to overcome the big change as soon as I became a freshman. Another major benefit is being ahead of many of my peers by math level by the time I along with the others reach high school.

At the same time, there were some disadvantages. One was that travel to both the schools was exhausting. Another downside was the demand of high school work and the difficulty of assignments compared to much easier middle school level classes.

The experience of being a high schooler in 8th grade was especially unique since sending students to middle school and high school at the same time is not a thing most schools would even consider.