Goals Our School

'Each September, half a million children begin the most

'important year of school so far...

'Year Seven.'

Go!

'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...'

-KIDS RECITE THE ALPHABET

'..will stay with them for ever.'

Hello there, I'm Mr Thoburn, 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!'

BOY BURPS

'How can you do that?!'

In the move up from primary to secondary,

one of the biggest things on everyone's mind

is making new friends.

Today on Our School, we meet Luka...

..Connor...

..and Ben.

And they're all keen to make a good first impression.

If I had to pick three words to describe me,

I would pick kind, friendly and hard-working.

That's four words, isn't it?!

I think my new school mates will think I am quite funny.

I think my new school mates will think of me

as a bit crazy.

The boys are all looking forward to trying out exciting new subjects.

The woodwork thing.

Do they even do that anymore? I thought that was Victorian years!

And they've all got great ambitions.

When I grow up I would like to be either an engineer or a technician.

When I am older I want to be a footballer,

but if I don't make it as a footballer

I want to be a games designer.

I've always wanted to be a pilot.

But then I would have to get around my fear of heights.

I don't have a clue where everything is.

It's the last day of the summer holidays

and everyone is busy preparing for tomorrow.

I am not sure how to get to the bus stop,

and then if I get to the bus stop and realise I've forgotten something,

that'll just be it over.

Connor and Ben will be taking the bus,

but Luka's mum is a bit, well, overprotective?'

It's only in the past few months that she's been letting me

take the dog out for a walk.

Even then it is only down to the end of the road...

..and back!

So she has decided to drive him into school herself.

I won't embarrass you by coming in

and being in front of loads of your new school friends.

-You will!

-I won't, I'll just drop you off.

You will!

I just want to make sure that you're OK.

No, I want to go by myself.

Well, I don't think so, I'll have to think about it,

but at this moment in time I want to make sure that you're there OK.

LUKA GROANS

'Being 11 feels quite good'

cos now I'm getting on the bus by myself.

'So I feel quite grown-up.'

-You going to put a bit of gel on your hair?

-Uh-huh.

Luka's looking spotless.

A quick photo before it's off to school in Mum's car.

Mum, like we said at breakfast, can you not embarrass me?

Just cos you're going to senior school doesn't mean you can't

give your mam a kiss, you know.

I know, but it's first day, I don't want to be embarrassed.

You don't want to be embarrassed, all right, I know.

All the other kids have made it in by bus on their own.

But Luka still has Mum in tow.

It was really embarrassing, the fact that she came out the car with me,

she walked to the front and then tried to hug me

about eight or ten times, and wouldn't let go of me.

It is the worst thing that could possibly happen on the first day.

Getting hugged and dropped off by your mum.

If any mums are watching this, don't do it.

Right! Next one!

'It's important to get to know each other as quickly as possible,

'and Mr Dunn, the music teacher, has a variety of games up his sleeve

'to help break down any barriers.'

-Are you ready?

-THEY SAY "SHH" ROUND THE CLASS

Thank you very much. OK, those people going, "Shhhhhh,"

erm, you're just holding things up.

'I think music is a good subject for the Year Sevens

'when they first come in.

'It's a universal language, music,'

and everyone's got their own tastes and their own likes of music.

So instantly they've got that spark

where they can talk to people they've never met before

and talk about their favourite bands,

and that is one of the activities I did.

Take a pen. You need to find people

who can answer or match those statements. Off you go, please.

This game is called Human Bingo,

where everyone has the race round asking random questions.

-D'you like Little Mix?

-Do you like Katy Perry?

-Do YOU like Little Mix?

-No.

Do you believe in ghosts?

-Do you like spicy foods?

-Not really.

What's your name?

Do you like The Wanted?

D'you like Little Mix?

Do you watch X Factor?

Do you have a sister?

-D'you like One Direction?

-Yes, I do.

-Right!

Right, thank you very much, CG! Seats, please.

'Some activities I like to use is,'

I use the Bungalow Song, which was great, OK,

it's very fun and the idea is they get to learn people's names.

You have to pick people out amongst the circle

and we do some silly dances.

'Mr Dunn's first victim is a rather worried looking Ben.'

So this is what happens.

I go, "Hey, Ben!" All right?

And then Ben goes, "Hey, what?"

And you can point as well. Let's point.

-So I go, Hey, Ben!

-Hey, what?

-Hey, Ben!

-Hey, what?

Fantastic, well done, Ben. Then we all sing, we all sing,

Let me see your bungalow Let me see your bungalow!

We're dancing, all right?

Ben then says, Ben then says this, he goes,

My hands are high My feet are low

And this is how I bungalow!

And while he says that he does a little dance,

so his hands are high, his hands are low and this is how he bungalows.

'I'm a very nervous person.

'But I like to try lots of things'

to see if I can stop being a nervous person.

THEY SING # Bungalow, bung, bungalow

# Bungalow, bung, bungalow. #

-Hey, Ben!

-Hey, what?

-Hey, Ben!

-Hey, what?

Let me see your bungalow, Let me see your bungalow!

My hands are high, my feet are low, and this is how I bungalow!

His hands are high, his feet are low...

CLASS JOINS IN ..And this is how he bungalows.

Stop there, excellent.

'If there is one, I would quite like to do a music club.

'Music at my primary school,'

it was like little drums and cymbals and things.

I don't want to do them, I want to do trumpets and saxophones and things.

THEY SING # Bungalow, bung, bungalow... #

I have a lot of air.

I can always talk for a very long time!

Ben lives with his mum and dad, little brother and sister,

and the family dog Jensen.

Over the summer holidays, the thought of making new friends

at secondary school has been weighing heavily on Ben's mind.

Don't laugh, but I've kind of forgot how to make friends

cos no-one's joined my old class for ages,

like, primary class,

so, like, I've always been friends with those people around.

One of those friends is Luka.

They've been in the same class throughout primary school,

so he knows him pretty well.

He tries to be funny, but really he's not.

-Sorry?

-THEY LAUGH

But he always thinks he's funny cos I laugh,

but I'm, like, a laugh-a-holic, I laugh at anything!

Is that even a word? A laugh-a-holic?!

A chocoholic is.

My tactic is if Luka makes a friend

that's when I'll go and talk to them.

If he doesn't, I'll just walk around with him following me!

That's not going to happen, though!

Luka has already made loads of new friends, including Connor,

who he sits next to in tutor group, drama, science, lunch and French,

which is a difficult subject

when the teacher refuses to speak a word of English!

Canard. Quack, quack, quack!

-Quack, quack, quack!

-LUKA LAUGHS

-OK, Luka.

-Comment ca va?

Ca va bien.

(What was it?)

LAUGHTER

-Pourquoi? Pourquoi?

-Pourquoi je suis de bonne humeur.

Encore! Encore! Non!

Un petit probleme, OK.

Comment dit-on? Connor.

-That's "par qui."

-Par qui. Est-ce que c'est correct?

ALL CHANT: Non, ce n'est pas correct.

Non, ce n'est pas correct.

OK, Luka.

Tu commence.

Quack-quack!

LAUGHTER

Pourquoi. Oui, c'est mieux.

OK, Luka, ecoute-moi. Pourquoi.

-How do you say it?

-Pourquoi.

Quack!

-Pourquoi.

-Quoi.

-Excellent.

-Oh, pourquoi?

Parce que je suis de bonne humeur.

De bonne humeur, excellent!

APPLAUSE

Luka's new buddy Connor lives with his mum and is a keen sportsman.

N-yeeoww! Come on, get them legs up!

But he has an overriding passion for one sport in particular.

I love football, it's like my favourite hobby.

I'm mad about it and I play in a Sunday league.

My idols are Steven Gerrard, cos he's the captain

and he always cheers his team up,

and he's inspired me to play football,

and I've always wanted to be like him.

Finish it, Connor!

Oww!

Getting into the football team is a big deal for Connor...

..and today over 40 Year Seven boys

have turned up to take part in the trials.

Connor is keen to impress but "can he kick it?"

Things certainly looks like they're "heading" in the right direction!

Luka is also keen on footie,

but the long lunch queue has made him late.

Let's hope it's not scuppered his chances.

He has a lot of catching up to do in difficult conditions.

It was wet so the ball was slipping.

I hate playing in the rain.

When it's sunny, I can do really...

I could run, like, along the pitch faster than Connor.

Right, jogging as fast as you can...

Connor and Luka have tried their hardest

to impress Mr Plows and Mr Braithwaite at the trials -

but have they done enough to make the team?

I think Connor Jinks is going to be an interesting one.

I thought he looked good sort of centre midfield-ish.

Someone who is going to patrol, you know, and get the ball down.

Every time he got it he wanted to play.

He was not concerned about taking people on,

he was wanting to pass, pass, pass.

I think in the new, with the new nine-a-side,

we are going to need someone disciplined like that in the middle.

Basically holding the team together.

Holding the team together? Good work, Connor!

Mr Braithwaite posts the results on the notice board.

For some of the boys it is a reason to celebrate.

Sadly for Luka, he didn't make it through.

I wasn't really bothered about not doing it

cos I know there's people who wanted it more than me.

Max is in goal!

'I feel a bit upset for Luka'

but I felt really pleased to be in the football team.

Our School has its own stationary shop

selling essential school items like pens and rulers,

and bag charms?

Every year, two lucky Year Sevens get picked to run it.

Where's Ben and Luka?

Ooh, could it be these two?

Could you two please pop to Student Services for me, please?

D'you know whereabouts that is? Yeah.

Yep.

Could you go to Student Services for me, please?

Don't worry, Luka,

Ben knows where Student Services is, don't you, Ben?

Sorry.

It wasn't that way.

So it's definitely in here?

Yes, it's in this room somewhere.

Maybe it's upstairs.

-Maybe it isn't.

-Are you all right, boys?

-Are you lost?

-Er, yeah, I'd say so.

Student Services, it's upstairs, isn't it?

Yeah, it's up the stairs and it's just opposite the doors at the top.

-OK.

-Thank you.

I thought so!

Really?

There it is.

Yeah, it's right next door to your form room.

Can you just go in?

Excuse me, do you just go in or do you knock?

-Yeah, are you Year Sevens?

-Yes.

What you do is just go straight in,

and wait your turn on the desk then we'll get you sorted out.

Go on, in you go, practise it.

-Go on, then.

-That's it, good lad.

Miss Gibbons wants to know about the shop this afternoon.

Wednesday lunchtime, it'll be up here.

-OK.

-OK?

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

It's on a Wednesday lunchtime.

-Wednesday lunchtime, fantastic.

-Just out there.

Does that mean you've got to go this lunchtime?

-What?

-She never said anything about that.

-What day is it today?

-It's Wednesday.

-Yep.

-She never said who was doing it.

-What's happening?

I've got to be honest, Luka, I'm not entirely sure either.

I don't think that they had got it that I meant for them to be

working in the shop.

Not that I just wanted to know about the shop.

But, yes, they were supposed to work in it,

not just go and tell me what day and what time it was on.

With that cleared up, it's time for the boys' first shift.

Yes, I'm Ben, my friend Luka said he would meet me up here.

But unfortunately for Luka, the lunch queue has held him up again!

Ah, the dinner queue...whoa! Whoa!

When Luka eventually turns up, he wastes no time getting stuck in.

White board, you spelled "white board" wrong.

You can't spell.

And you've spelled "rubber" wrong.

The school operates a cashless system.

On their induction day,

all the students had their fingerprints taken,

so if you want to buy anything just put your thumb on the reader,

and, hey presto, your parents get to pay the bill.

Brilliant!

Unfortunately the thumb reader is broken today.

-Lilly.

-Lilia.

-Lilia.

Bad news for Ben and Luka.

They have to write out everything by hand,

and it's starting to feel more like a spelling test!

-L-I-L-I...

-A.

L-I-L-I-A.

-Think about it, Ben. Lilia. A!

-A.

Sorry I couldn't hear you

cos you're wittering on in the background.

-Right, you write now.

-OK, I'll write.

After working out who does what,

the shop starts to do a roaring trade.

It's never looked so busy.

Do you get money?

What? No, we don't get paid.

I wish we did.

The boys have even got their own ideas

about what to add to the range.

Chocolate!

One word. Chocolate!

Paninis. It's a shorter dinner queue.

What should they call me, should they call me Ben?

Erm, yeah, I think so. And it's your name, isn't it?

-I know but I've been told...

-Benjamin Button!

BEN LAUGHS

-You don't know who Benjamin Button is, do you?

-Not a clue!

CLASS SINGS IN FRENCH

Everyone is getting stuck into their first few weeks at school.

They might not always understand what's going on

but they're generally having a ball.

Unfortunately, it's not all fun and games.

Sometimes unkind behaviour from other pupils can be distressing.

An incident on the school bus with a Year Eight student

has upset Ben,

and Assistant Head Mr Skerry is looking into it.

-What was he doing?

-He was swearing at me

and telling me to move off the chair

even though it was the only chair I could find.

OK. We'll make sure tonight that you don't get to sit next to him,

and I'll make sure that he doesn't

sit next to you in the future on the bus. Is that OK, Ben?

'I wasn't happy with it.'

I didn't want it to happen again,

so I went to a teacher.

The culprit has been summoned to Mr Skerry's office

for an intense grilling,

but his story doesn't quite match Ben's.

I don't, he just like said, "Move, sit the hell off..."

-What?

-He just, like, sweared as well.

-He swore?

-Yeah, even ask Kean.

No, no, I'm asking you, Dalpender.

I'm not... Kean isn't here at the moment,

because as far as I'm concerned

there was no suggestion that Kean was involved,

but you're now telling me Kean was there as well,

so, yeah, I will go and talk to Kean,

I will find out from Kean his version of events.

In the meantime, you're going to stay here,

and Mr Livesey's going to keep an eye on you,

and you're not going anywhere.

Bullying of any sort isn't tolerated at Our School,

and Mr Skerry is determined to get to the truth as quickly as possible.

Over in Student Services, he's interrogating the witness.

Did at any point a Year Seven boy swear at Dalpender?

-Did you hear him swear at Dalpender?

-No.

-Did you hear Dalpender swear at the Year Seven boy?

-Yeah.

That's it, thank you. Right.

Armed with the facts, Mr Skerry becomes Mr Scary!

Do you understand what will happen

if Mr Livesey hears of any other issues on the Con 101 bus

that involve you?!

-I won't be allowed on the bus.

-Good!

Off you go.

'For Ben, it's just a case of reassurance.

'He's come to see us, we sort it out.'

Someone has sworn and quite rightly he came and said,

"Well, they swore and I didn't like it.

"It made me feel uncomfortable."

And we feel that we've dealt with it today.

With the situation sorted,

Ben's now free to get on with the more enjoyable side of school life.

He's been trying everything the school has to offer

but still hasn't quite found what he is looking for.

MR DUNN PLAYS TRUMPET

Mr Dunn thinks that he may just have the answer.

Not that he is blowing his own trumpet.

Oh, actually he is!

Trumpet was one of the ones that I wanted to play,

and because our music teacher, like, he could play the trumpet,

like, he said he would give me a lesson,

so I thought it would be a good idea to see,

so I just went along with it.

I have always imagined them to be a bit shinier

They are usually shiny, Ben. Don't be fooled by that one,

that's got a certain finish on it. I went for a little fancy finish.

This is the one you're going to be playing. This was my first trumpet.

I've cleaned the mouthpiece for you so it's nice and clean.

It was good news you're interested about playing an instrument.

That is right, isn't it?

You attempted between a saxophone and trumpet?

-But then my dad's also suggested a keyboard.

-All right.

Cos it's, we have neighbours that are usually in,

and he says, like, you can put headphones in

and you can turn the volume up and down.

Yeah, I completely agree, yeah, definitely so,

there is obviously that, as well.

I just thought, you know what,

let's just have a little 20-minute trumpet session

and it gives you an idea of what the trumpet is like.

Are you enjoying that cake, Ben?

Because it is like I have quite a lot of time on my hands

because I don't have a hobby.

Right. Do you want to pop that in the bin?

Do you have a drink with you?

You can have a little drink, then we can make a start.

No, I haven't, actually.

No, that is fine, do you want to pop that in the bin?

PLAYS JAZZ LICK

That is the thing, you say you can only play the guitar

and you dabble in the piano, but you can play loads of stuff.

I am sneaky like that, Ben.

I hope Ben has managed to swallow all of his lunch,

otherwise this could get a bit messy for Mr Dunn.

Let's just see if you can make a sound.

I am just intrigued to see

whether you can pick that instrument up and make a sound, Ben.

So try it.

RANDOM NOTES

That's good, this is good signs, try it two more times.

WHEEZES No!

What might help is if you just kind of

moisten the end of the mouth piece.

Ben and Mr Dunn spend the next 20 minutes making a variety of noises.

SUSTAINED NOTE

After all, practice makes perfect!

-SUSTAINED NOTE

-Good, keep going, do some more.

BOTH REPEAT NOTE

HE BLOWS RASPBERRY

HIGH PITCHED NOTE

WHEEZES

BOTH REPEAT NOTE

LONG, WHEEZING NOTE

Good, this is good. Keep going.

MIMICS LOW NOTE

LAUGHS

It is what it sounds like! Like you are the boat!

MIMICS LOW RUMBLING FOGHORN

Let's see now, if you can just kind of go...

SHORT CLEAN NOTES

Maybe two or three short notes. On that note.

REPEATS SEQUENCE

Dead easy.

'Ben definitely had some ability there.'

And if he works on that, he'd be a good trumpet player.

Yeah, I think I might carry on with the trumpet.

It did seem...

It wasn't really hard,

but it was a little bit difficult to keep a continuous sound.

HOLDS NOTE

There you go, that is the note we are aiming for!

Did you hear where that went at the end?

'I think it is very key to give things a try,

'especially in Year 7,

'as you come in you'll get lots of new experiences.'

And teachers will ask you to do things and try things out

and the key is to try as many as possible.

I really appreciate those students who give it a try

and if they don't like it and they say,

"No, sir, I didn't particularly like that",

that's fine, and I'll say, "At least you gave it a go."

And that is a good motto to have in life. Definitely.

Back in the boys' tutor group, it is time for show and tell.

Any guesses what Connor is going to talk about?

My prize possession is my football,

which, when I went to watch my first Liverpool match,

the ball got kicked into the stands

and I managed to catch it and the real price of it is about £100.

Would you ever sell it? Not even if you had no money?

-Nope.

-No?

So we are finding out a little bit more about Connor.

So we have just found out how passionate he is about football.

That is his prize possession

out of anything he could have in the world.

Even a Lamborghini?

But he hasn't got a Lamborghini.

No, but if he could have it.

But I can't drive, though!

Anything that he has got. OK?

That was a silly question, wasn't it, Alex?

It is a big day for the newly formed Year 7 football squad.

On three. One, two, three. ALL CHEER

It is their first home match, and wearing the number 15 shirt,

Connor is determined to prove himself.

What a goal fest. Conyers win, 10-2.

Result! Connor has worked his socks off, and Mr Plows is delighted.

Connor was absolutely superb. Big presence in central midfield.

Someone in the mould of someone like the Steven Gerrards,

where he can get forward and score his goals.

With a bit of luck, and someone comes to see him playing really well,

they might take him into one of our local academies for six weeks,

on a trial basis, so, yeah, if he keeps going

the potential for him is quite high.

Luka!

Back at the beginning of term,

Luka's mum was taking him to and from school.

Hello!

But he's managed to persuade her that he's a big boy now,

and he's started to take the bus.

Well, at least most of the time.

The thing is, I know he is growing up

but I look at him as if he is still a baby.

He's got an over-protective mum, I can't help that.

I think it is much better in secondary

because my mum isn't as protective as she used to be.

I am allowed to take the dog much further places

and venture off further.

Yay!

So Luka and Connor have both got what they wanted

and made good friends into the bargain.

Along the way, Ben has also found a new mate in Lucas.

In Conyers right now I know, Ben, Ben, Ben and Ben.

Not including you and Harper.

Ben spent his first few months here

trying out everything the school had to offer.

His search for a hobby has taken an unexpected turn.

I tried the trumpet at school and I enjoyed that

but I don't think it is what I'd like to do.

I tried jujitsu and they taught me how to fall over

but I didn't feel that was for me.

Then I came to kick-boxing so I gave it a couple of weeks

and I really enjoyed it.

Ben has finally found the perfect pastime

and is hoping that Lucas gets a kick out of it too.

It doesn't look like the best way to treat a new mate to me,

but they see to be really hitting it off.

I think Ben is probably one of my best friends now.

He can be quite funny and I just like him, really.

I think me and Lucas are doing pretty well as friends

and I think we are going to be friends in, like, future years.

BELL RINGS

When you join Year 7 you never know what is around the corner.

There are so many possibilities.

Despite being nervous about making friends,

all of our boys have made a pretty good job of it.

Who knows? The friends you make in Year 7

may just be the ones you keep for the rest of your life.

Next time on Our School:

Kieran and Alex's friendship is testing everyone's patience.

We talk too much.

Yes, yes, we do.

Do you want to go wait outside?

And Delight wows her class mates.

# The sound from deep within. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Can you say anything in French?

-Bonjour.

Haha!

Oh, no!

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

Waves them in the air, and their books.

And does that with their jumpers.

Waves their planner, and then does that.

Miss is going to be proud of you!