Finding Friends Our School

Each September, half a million children begin the most

important year of school so far.

Year 7.

CBBC have rigged this secondary school with

loads of cameras,

so you can see exactly what happens as they make new friends

and get into trouble.

If you wish to find out how strict I can be,

then break the rules I set down.

I'm not spotting make-up there, am I?

But what they learn here...

will stay with them for ever.

Hello there. I'm Mr Thorburn and I'm a science teacher here.

If you've ever wondered what secondary school is like,

here's your chance to find out.

This is Our School!

HE BURPS

How can you do that?

This time on Our School, we look at friendship and fitting in.

In secondary school, it would be important to make friends.

I'm nervous about making new friends.

The best thing could happen to me, is that I'd just fit in.

Friends are important because they look out for you.

It's quite important to be cool at school,

cos you get, like, more friends.

We'll be following Katie

and Lucas as they try to meet new mates in Year 7.

It's 11.30 and Katie and Lucas are in English.

OK, right, just continuing our pirate theme here, if this works.

Any chance of having a laugh in class has got to be a good

thing, right?

What are we doing here?

Though it's all part of the lesson, of course!

Just casually walk.

Wha-hoo!

Joining in all the fun is Katie.

I need to sneeze, I need to sneeze, I need to sneeze,

I need to sneeze. No, I don't.

I thought I needed to sneeze.

At home, I live with my mum, my sister and myself, my dog,

my three cats and my hamster.

As well as her pets, Katie loves reading.

My favourites are The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings

and Roald Dahl books.

I like doing shows cos in primary, I done

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I was a dwarf.

There are only a few students from her old primary at Our School,

which might not be such a bad thing,

because she was bullied there and had a difficult time.

I was sick of the name-calling, and this boy,

he made up this game called the Katie touch,

like if I touched them, they'd run away and give it to someone else,

and all that. So I had no friends at all.

Not too high!

When I went to the park I got bullied, like,

I wasn't even allowed in there, in the play area where I could swing

on the monkey bars or hang upside down, or even go on the spider web.

When I was bullied, I felt really upset and sad.

Now she's in a new school, Katie's hoping things will be different.

Making friends is important to me because, like, instead

of sitting by yourself at playtime and lunchtime, I can

just like run around and play.

If you don't know anyone, break times can be scary,

but Katie makes an effort to join a group of Year 7 girls.

-You want a go on it?

-Go on?

-Go on.

Katie's form teacher, Miss Gibbons,

knows exactly what it's like to start Year 7.

I do remember my first day.

We were all so excited to actually start school, and it's kind of

like going from the eldest in the school to the youngest, quite scary.

Oh, my God!

It can take time to make friends, but Katie's doing her best

and having a go.

These are lunchtime, but how about PE?

Oh, you want to walk up then? Hang on!

She's made a start.

Break time's over and it's 7CG's science lesson.

Lucas seems keen.

They need half oxygen to make fire,

-it needs half oxygen to make fire.

-Nerd!

Why does everyone say that?

I'm only joking, it means you're good at science.

Well, everyone does call me a nerd.

Lucas lives seven miles from the school,

in the middle of the countryside.

Probably the best thing about living here would be there's lots of space

for you to play outside.

Coming to a secondary school with nearly 1,500 students

is a big change for Lucas, who went to a small village primary.

The other kids that I'm going to be in class with, they're going to

be used to quite a lot of kids

but I'm used to like 11 other children in the class with me.

I don't exactly think that it's going to stop me

from trying to do my hardest.

Hmm, maybe he's thirsty, then.

Probably the most important thing about going to Conyers

would just probably be making friends for me

to, like, talk to and things.

But, however much you want them,

making friends can take a bit of time.

If I could look into the future

and see what would happen at the end of my first term,

I'd mostly just like to see me with friends

and being able to do lots of activities.

Teachers know that sometimes it can take a while to settle in.

For students who have come here from different areas

it's very daunting, but luckily we have got a good system

where we do kind of buddy them up with other students

to help them fit in.

I don't think it matters that much to be popular

cos then you might just have fake friends.

CHATTER AND LAUGHTER

It's lunchtime

and Katie's trying to make friends...

I'm trying to have me dinner and there's wasps all over me!

..with a boy called Jake.

I'm trying to have me toastie, wasps all over me!

-Yeah.

-Have you had your dinner?

-Yeah.

-Packed lunch?

Yep.

What lesson have you got next?

Me got drama.

Me got design technology.

And after that, I've got design technology after you!

And what have you got you got after that?

French.

I don't really like French.

Oh, is that your first lesson?

-She's foreign.

-I know she's...

Whoa! You see? Wasps all over me!

After lunch, English.

The class are doing a presentation about how school is going so far.

OK, welcome back.

I hope you've found time to relax after your first week at Conyers.

You were asked to write up how you got on last week in Conyers.

Katie seems to have plenty to think about.

"I like the colours that we have for our jumper and shirts.

"Friday, I got lost, and I forgot how to get to science."

They're not that strict when if you do something wrong

cos I left my art work at home and Miss never got mad or shouted at me.

Luka, stand up, let's hear what you've got written down, please.

"This week I am looking forward to all the great lessons I will have.

"I'm also looking forward to the lovely dinners. I'm looking forward

"to playing with my friends at break."

Lovely, thank you.

Katie? Loud and clear.

"My first week at Conyers has been great.

At first I was nervous. I thought I'd be late for class

"because I thought I'd get lost.

"And I have to say that Conyers is better than primary.

"I have to say I have no concerns at all."

OK, and what about this week? What are you looking forward to?

I'm looking forward to science

because we're learning about Bunsen burners.

Excellent, OK.

That sounds pretty good. Katie's trying hard to fit in.

When you join Year 7,

most secondary schools offer loads of clubs and activities.

From Zumba...

Whoo-hoo! C'mon, girls, shake your booty!

You get to do, like, Shakira dances, belly dancing...

..to choir...

# Have you ever seen a zombie come to tea? #

I can't sing. Like, everyone says I can, but I can't. I'm, like, "No!"

..book club...

Lots of books to choose from, I think it's really good.

..to rugby.

AAAAARRRGH!

I got kneed in the back!

There's plenty to choose from.

Keen to meet new mates, Lucas has joined one of these clubs.

CHATTER

It's a fantasy war-game group,

where students paint and battle with miniature characters.

-That's really good.

-Thanks.

I did a... I did...

I had to do one at something like this in art

in my old school.

You can either have a match or you just paint.

So far I've just painted.

But it's good cos halfway through you have a break, you get some

orange juice and you tell lots of jokes with everyone else.

This is serious man stuff!

-Not really.

-Painting tiny figures?

Tiny little figurines is man stuff?

Yes! We're the manliest men in the world!

In a bid to impress, Lucas decides to show off a hidden talent.

BOY BELCHES

I can belch bigger than that. I can belch on cue.

HE BELCHES

Try this.

Go on, then!

HE BELCHES Wow!

That is pretty good.

HE BELCHES

Oh, here we go!

That's nothing to do with it.

HE BURPS FEEBLY

OK, now...

LOUD BELCH

-Whey aye!

-Beat that!

Well, that's one way to make new mates!

How can you do that?

I was born with a talent.

It's not a very pleasant talent, but it's a talent.

Although she's tried hard to fit in, by week two,

Katie's beginning to spend more and more time alone.

When you, like, feel lonely and you've got no friends to play with,

it feels like you're in a world all by yourself.

The big downsides in Year 7 are if you get a student that

doesn't fit in with anyone

and that they feel as if they're on their own for the year,

the longer that goes on the harder it is to break that cycle.

Miss, would you...? Miss?

Miss, would you do it that big?

And then all along and this one box out?

Katie's not having much fun in lessons either.

A boy called Alex has given her a nickname that she doesn't like.

Katy Rent-A-Tent!

Rent-A-Tent, Rent-A-Tent, Rent-A-Tent!

We were on a camping site,

and there was this camping company called Rent-A-Tent,

and when I heard Katie's last name I thought, that's Rent-A-Tent.

Rent-A-Tent! Rent-A-Tent!

-Quinny!

-Quinny!

-Shut up!

So, like, when Quinny, Jinx, and the rest of the boys

were calling me Rent-A-Tent it got on my nerves.

-Katie Rent-A-Tent!

-I'm going to kill you!

Rent-A-Tent!

But that doesn't stop it.

-Thanks, Rent-A-Tent!

-I'm not Rent-A-Tent!

Remember in science when that was going on in science?

Katie was giving out books

and I said, "Thanks Rent-A-Tent," and she said, "I'm not Rent-A-Tent!"

Call her Rent-A-Tent, Conner.

And now other students are using the name.

Hi, Rent-A-Tent!

I didn't want to make her upset, because I had no meaning to it,

I just thought it was cool to give her a nickname.

Nicknames can be a bit of fun.

He sometimes calls me Turkish.

And I've made a new name for him

and that's Cat.

-Woody.

-Woody.

-Darth Varda.

-Darth Varda.

-Dun, dun ,dun...

I call him Quinny.

He calls me Jinxy.

And it's not just their mates that the Year 7s like to nickname.

Mr Skerry or something.

-The younger ones will always say...

-Mr Scary.

LAUGHTER

That's absolutely out of order!

I do not expect that at all at this school.

Some of the older kids call him Mr Scary.

Am I clear?

Because he's tall and he's really strict.

Someone here has dropped that crisp packet, so whoever's responsible...

I'm absolutely sure that Mr Scary is a very common thing.

Take it off, please.

I'm sure I have been called worse, but I do not want to know about it.

But having a nickname isn't the same as being CALLED names.

It's 2.30 and the Year 7s are in Maths,

but Mr Livesey wants a word.

When a teacher asks to see you, it doesn't always mean you're in

trouble. They may just want to help.

Do you want to grab a seat?

-Are you all right?

-Yeah.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah.

-You look a bit flushed.

-Everything all right, like?

-I left my homework at home .

-You left your homework at home?

-Yeah.

-Right.

What I want to just have a chat about is, obviously you have...

I've been watching the tutor groups

and speaking to the tutors and seeing how everyone's settling in.

I just wonder how you feel as though you've settled in at Conyers so far.

-My lessons are really hard.

-Lessons are hard, right.

And I keep getting lost.

When I've seen you, you haven't been with many people,

you've been a bit on your own when I see you wandering around.

I was thinking about how would you feel

if we got you a mentor? Someone so you could have a chat to

once a week, once a fortnight, and set up a meeting

-where you chat with them? Is that all right?

-Yeah.

I'm hoping you'll get involved in a few more clubs this year,

-have a bigger friendship group where there's more people to talk to.

-Yeah.

Brilliant. I'll take you back to Maths now, all right?

Making friends can be hard when you've been bullied in the past

and the talk seems to have helped.

Because I've been lonely, like,

been lonely at playtime and all that, I have no-one to play with.

Every time Mr Livesey sees me I'm all by myself,

so he's getting me a mentor I can talk to at lunchtime and playtime.

It's all right.

If we see that there's a student on their own, we have a great

mentor scheme with our student leadership programme.

We'll give a mentor to the Year 7s

so they've got somebody who they feel they can go and talk to.

It's, like, helping me with my homework, or it's if I have

any problems I can talk to my mentor.

Katie's mentor is called Victoria.

She's in the sixth form and wants know how Katie's getting on.

How's school going in general?

-Good.

-Is it better than primary school?

Yep, less bullying.

Got to say that, um... better, bigger...

If you're, like, feeling like a bit sad or by yourself or anything,

I can come. I'm always up here.

-You know how to get here, don't you?

-Yep.

Katie is still just finding her feet, and she's doing fantastically,

so I think it's just a matter of time before she does settle in,

really find her friendship group.

School isn't just about who you hang out with,

there are lots of new subjects to try, too.

Awesome, it's so much fun.

-The lessons are really different.

-Yeah.

My best subjects are drama...

I love my job, me!

Even though I've got bad taste in cars.

LAUGHTER

Science - it's so interesting.

At this stage it would be a little bit foolhardy of me

just to throw you some acid and matches and go knock yourself out.

I like music because I want to be a singer.

Sing...

# Let me see your bungalow

# Let me see your bungalow

# My hands are high my feet are low

# And this is how I bungalow. #

And there's one subject everyone's talking about.

Est-ce que je peux etre...?

The French teacher only speaks in French.

TEACHER SPEAKS FRENCH

Comme ci, comme ca.

Oh, no.

Oh, yeah, that song - everyone gets their pens out and goes like that

and waves them in the air, and books, and then does that with

their jumpers, waves their planner, and then does that.

HE SINGS INDISTINCTLY IN FRENCH

So what's the best way to get Year 7s learning French?

Get 'em singing, of course!

THEY SING IN FRENCH

Oh, my gosh, I'm, like, everyone else is singing like so loud

and I'm like, "I can't even sing."

At first when she's just speaking French we're like, "Oh, heck

"this is going to be hard," but after a while she gets

all these songs that help us remember French words.

It's lunchtime and in the sandwich room,

Lucas is at the centre of things.

-I don't get Hulk. Explain Hulk to me.

-All right,

he went...like, he was doing an experiment

to make, like, to make creatures really big and powerful, but

then a gas tank exploded

and everyone got out except for him,

and now whenever he gets angry

he turns in to a big green man to destroy everything.

He's always angry.

He's struck up a friendship with a boy in his class called Ben.

He showed me this brand-new watch and it shows his pulse

and everything, and he just goes like that. I just like him.

I think one of my good friends will be Lucas

because, like, I always seem to be paired with him,

or I sit next to him. If I forget something he'll lend me it.

# Let me see your bungalow

# Let me see your bungalow

# My hands are high my feet are low. and this is how I bungalow. #

# Bungalow! Bung-Bungalow, bungalow... #

Right, let's stop singing now.

Lucas has even persuaded his new friend

to come along to the war-gaming club.

Tell me the basics.

Men can move six inches each go,

and the vehicles can move 12.

The vehicles can move 12 inches, so this one it can move...

it can fire 72 inches.

That's why, that's why it's classed like the best vehicle ever.

Why can't there just be people and aliens?

But, no, there has to be people, then more people, than bad people,

and even worse people.

-Then aliens, then cyborgs.

-Then robot people.

So, like, if five men were like attacking five people...

But if someone's got a gun and a sword,

they get two dice.

Good aliens, the dinosaurs and Pterodactyls...

Space marines.

..demons and all of that. It just goes on and on,

and I like things simple.

Just to sum it up, he's going to thrash them.

So do you get it a bit more now?

Briefly. I'll have forgot it by the morning.

Katie's trying new activities too.

She's joined the Year 7 book club.

I like reading my books.

I read them all the time.

I read them before I go to sleep,

and when I'm on the bus to school,

and when I'm on the bus home.

I'm reading them 24/7.

-BOOK CLUB TEACHER:

-Today is still all about

getting to know each other, OK?

My favourite books are things like thrillers.

I love Dan Brown's. I like most genres.

I don't like science fiction,

I'm not really a science fiction girl, no.

I like love story books.

I just like girlie books and stuff.

I like adventure books.

My favourite one is The Hobbit, and Lord of The Rings,

and all the Twilight books.

Nice one, Katie!

But the club isn't just talking about books -

it's about finding whether you have other things in common, too.

You have to see all my animals.

There's my sister's cat.

There's my mum's cat.

They're my dogs.

He's licking a plate.

Lucas and Ben have formed quite a double act

and are hanging out together outside of school too.

So this is Jensen. Get down, Jensen.

LUCAS GIGGLES And he has a whip like a tail...

He has a tail like a whip, even. Jensen, down.

Jensen, down.

Having met Jensen the dog,

now Lucas can check out Ben's model collection.

When you spin it around it goes "bring-bring."

Yes!

Lego Chima, superheroes, alien fighters, or...

-Something like that.

-Yeah.

Whoa.

I actually thought I was the only one in school

that actually collected Lego.

I thought we had nearly nothing in common,

but now I know we've got everything in common.

Don't you think that's why we're friends, though?

Lucas started school hoping to make new friends,

and it looks like he may have found one already.

I'd prefer a really good friend

than a group of just sort of random friends.

I wasn't going to say anything about that.

Oh, yes, you were.

-IMITATING GOLLUM:

-Shut up.

Both boys have high hopes for the friendship.

'We probably still will be friends in the distant future,'

when like cars fly about.

-I do the biggest burps in the world.

-Don't you dare!

But what does Ben think of his new mate's party trick?

It does have its advantages.

LUCAS BURPS

Ah, thanks a lot(!) LUCAS LAUGHS

If I don't like someone I can get him to burp and make them go away.

Katie's struggled to fit in at secondary school,

though she's been making every effort to find new friends.

There you go. You're welcome. Next.

And you know what?

I think she might have found the answer -

she's enrolled as a student librarian.

I scan books and stamp leaflets for them

and tidy up the book case.

-I'm bring that one back.

-Do you want it renewing?

Er, no, it's all right.

This is a great place for Katie, who loves it here.

Help me do this one. This one.

First day on the job. First day.

Right what do you need doing?

-Um, return.

-Has it a thingy in it?

Yeah, it hasn't popped up when I scanned it.

And we are done.

What's your favourite bit about being a Librarian?

I don't know. I just like scanning, stamping.

And fellow librarian Abbie has some useful advice.

When I came here, there was only one person who came here who I knew,

so I found it hard to fit in at first.

But like since I became a librarian it got easier,

because I knew all the other people who came up here.

Like I've got loads of friends now.

There's lots of people here to make friends with.

We're all nice people, we aren't going to bite your head off.

Thank you!

That's a good thing to know.

At the beginning of term, Katie was hoping for a fresh start.

It's been a struggle at times,

but with her new job, she's looking forward to the rest of Year 7.

Start that again.

I like it, you like it, read it tonight in bed.

Queen of the library. Well, Miss Dalton is, but...

Princess of the library, then KATIE GIGGLES

Yes.

Next time on Our School -

twins Chloe and Holly are creating a lot of confusion...

-I'm going to call yous Hoey.

-Holly.

-I said Hoey - Chloe and Holly mixed.

-No.

..and dancing Donna's accent is causing a stir

They all try to, like, make me say kangaroo.

Kangaroo.

-LAUGHING:

-I'm like... I'm like not from Australia!

-Is it true you can burp the alphabet?

-Yes, I can.

-LAUGHING:

-I can burp the alphabet.

All right.

HE BURPS THE ALPHABET

APPLAUSE

What a skill!