• Question: Which would struggle in year 7 girl's or boy's ?

    Asked by anon-216307 to Robert, Olly, Nicola, Jasmin, Dennis, Caroline on 15 Jun 2019.
    • Photo: Robert Dempsey

      Robert Dempsey answered on 15 Jun 2019:


      Interesting question! I’m not sure if boys or girls are more likely to struggle when they get to Year 7 – it’s probably something to do with how the person copes and manages that change? Personally, I did really well academically when I started high school and enjoyed school a lot more then what I remember of primary school. In terms of personal stuff, again I’m not sure if boys or girls are more likely to struggle because of bullying and other things – I’m not sure if its as simple as boys or girls being more susceptible to these things (e.g. boys’ experiences of bullying could be quite different to girls’ experiences). On a side note, we’ve done an interesting study lately with Yr7 boys and girls about their eating behaviours and what influences their eating behaviours and choices – I thought that we may get bullying as a big reason (possibly the girls towards other girls) but we found that the boys teased the girls for eating healthily at school but not the other way around…

    • Photo: Caroline Brett

      Caroline Brett answered on 15 Jun 2019:


      I think it really depends on the individual themselves. There lots of pressures on both girls and boys at that age, but how well someone copes with them depends on all sorts of things such as their personality, background, support, and outlook. Starting high school is always going to be stressful to some extent (and exciting!), so it’s important that teachers are aware of this and that they, families, and friends all offer support

    • Photo: Dennis Relojo-Howell

      Dennis Relojo-Howell answered on 15 Jun 2019:


      Hi Alysia. I don’t think that gender would have a great impact on their experience at Year 7 (or whatever Year). It depends on the students. Whether a student is a boy or a girl, if they think that they are struggling, they should ask for support. I’m sure teachers would be willing to listen.

    • Photo: Nicola Johnstone

      Nicola Johnstone answered on 16 Jun 2019:


      The research says that girls can have more anxiety than boys in general and this is usually to do with how girls feel about themselves, but also might be to do with how they develop, or that boys are less likely to talk about difficulties – scientist are still working this out. I’m doing a study right now that looks at how girls feel about moving into year 7. What we do know is that for both boys and girls having good friends around you can make Year 7 easier: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/news/bffs-make-transition-secondary-school-easier

    • Photo: Jasmin Moon

      Jasmin Moon answered on 17 Jun 2019:


      Year 7 can be a difficult year for boys and girls, you’ve just gone from being the oldest students in the school to being the youngest, you’ve likely been spilt up from your old classmates and have to meet lots of new ones and the school work is a bit harder too. I think for girls and boys it’s important to talk to a parent or teacher if you are finding things hard.

    • Photo: Oliver Clabburn

      Oliver Clabburn answered on 17 Jun 2019:


      Everyone struggles in year 7, whether you’re a boy or a girl! It’s a massive change going from primary to secondary school. On top of that, you make new groups of friends and have loads more homework than you used to have. Girls and boys both will have new struggles to deal with at year 7- but it won’t take long to get them under control!

Comments