children at primary school - do they make friends outside their form groups?

[SlightlyFoxed]

just wondering - ds might go to a small primary school, just one form entry, but will be 30 pupils per year. I was wondering if this would be "too small" but then wondered how likely that dcs would make friends with children in other classes eg at playtime rather than just sticking with those in their own form who they see all the time. in which case the issue of size in that context would be pretty irrelevant.

anyone got dcs at bigger schools who have made friends with other kids outside their forms?

[jennifersofia]

My 2 go to a 2 form entry, and sadly, then tend to just relate to the children in their class - not even so much with parallel class! However, perhaps this is because they both have a good bank of friends (5-6) in their classes, so don't feel the need to go elsewhere.

[thegrammerpolicesic]

My ds is only in reception but has made a fair few friends in other years. I am very happy with this and see it as an unforeseen (by me anyway) benefit of a smaller school.

Ds absolutely loves talking to these big boys. They tend to be in year 5 and 6 rather than slightly older ones. The school is very good at encouraging this though, with a buddy scheme etc.

[JJ6]

my daughter is in yr 1 inner city school 60 entry. She has made friends in year 2,3 &4. the school promotes older children looking after the younger ones. She comes home saying 'I met a new friend she said that we (the yr 1's) should line up at the end of line so we don't get knocked over going back in to school. She gets on with some of the older boys too>

[Clary]

My DD is in a year of 60 so only 2 classes (often 3 classes in a year at our school).

She has made friends from the other class, and in fact some friends who she knew before school have never been in her class but are still friends.

Similarly she has friends from other year groups, as does DS2 (6yo). DS1 is maybe less sociable but even he has a couple of lads from the other class as close friends.

Sometimes it's from being set for subjects (but that doesn't apply to DS2 yet), also from Beavers, Brownies etc.

I must say tho DD's best pals are in her class and a v good friend in yr1 and 2 who has been in the other class for yr 3 and 4 is not now so close to her but that's just how it goes with friendship groups imo.

[displayuntilbestbefore]

my dcs are in year groups with 2 classes and both have always played with children in the other class as well as older/younger children.
ds2's best friend is in the other class in his year and they get together at playtime and lunchtime along with friends they both have in their classes.
ds1 is in a year group of 60, so 2 classes of 30, ds2 is in a smaller year group and his class has 19 in it, the other class a similar number.

[megapixels]

Mine goes to a school with three parallel classes and she has lots of friends in the other classes. They got mixed up at the beginning of the summer term so they go back to playing with their old friends and the old friends bring along their new friends and so on, so you get groups of children across classes playing together.

Also I have noticed that in dd's school some older children, usually girls, like to play with the younger ones, especially the ones who look lost and lonely. Dd has a friend in year 6, she said that the girl used to come and sit with her until she finished her lunch because dd is a really slow eater and is usually the last one out.

[misshardbroom]

My DC go to a medium-sized school (about 200 pupils), but as earlier posters have said, the school makes an effort to mix children up and make sure they know children outstide their own year group.

There's a buddy scheme where Yr 4 children 'mentor' reception children, and in KS1, the children are often split vertically (e.g. 10 reception, 10 YR1, 10 Yr2) for activities such as music or art.

I think it's great, it's certainly done a lot to boost my children's confidence when starting school.

[piscesmoon]

Mine always mixed. In fact DC1 started at the primary school when he was 9yrs and he always wished theat he had been placed in the 'other' class because most of his friends were in it.

[LIZS]

In younger years ie infant I'd say relatively few unless you actively cultivate playdates with mums of kids in the other class(es). Also depends how much moving around they do from one class to another each year when they move up because that gradually extends the friendship circles and what extra curricular activities they share.

[piscesmoon]

It depends on whether they knew anyone in the infants before they started.

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

My dd (8.8) goes to a relativley big international school. there are four classes in her year group, so 80ish pupils, she plays with others from her year group and older and younger children - not too keen on the 11 year olds trying to put makeup on her

[misshardbroom]

kreecher your name makes me smile whenever I see you on here!

[Runoutofideas]

My dd1 is in reception at a 3 class entry infant school. The vast majority of children she talks about are in her class, although she has become friendly with a couple of others at lunchtime as they put all the children who have packed lunches together to eat. A couple of children she was friendly with at pre-school are in different classes and she no longer mentions them.

It depends on how the school operates though. A friend of mine has a child at a 2 class entry school where the classrooms adjoin, with shared spaces, and the children intermingle much more. She doesn't like this as it feels like one class of 60 children for a lot of the time and her child hasn't made many friends who she didn't already know from pre-school.

[Hulababy]

7y DD is at a small prep school. There is only about 90 girls in the whole school, across 7 years.

There is only one form per year group, and small classes sizes in the too. DD is friends with all the children in her class and gets on well with each of them.

She has also made friends with children from other year groups, although not as good a friends as her peer goup. She has had party invites from other classes and invited girls from other classes to her party. In after schoo club she will happily play with older and younger girls.

DD also has friends outside of school, made via children of our friends, Brownies, Drama, etc. Her best friend doesn't go to her own school at all.

A small school has definitely not been a hinderence to DD in the slightest.

[Hulababy]

DD's school also encourages links between year groups, and between te preprep (infant) and prep (junior) groups. Has worked really well.

[redskyatnight]

I think it depends on the school. At DS's school (2 form entry infants) they mix a lot within the year and encourage older children to take on "leadership" roles with younger. DS's best friend last year (when he was in YR) was a girl in Year 2.
Now his friends are equally spread between his Y1 class, the other Y1 class and Y2 (and a couple of Reception children).

Also where there are siblings it seems to encourage inter year mixing.

[SlightlyFoxed]

thanks all for your replies, that's really helpful. seems like it depends on the school more than anything. I like the idea of mixing between years, which might happen more in a small school I guess.

[Jux]

My dd goes to a normal state primary. There is much mixing between the years, particularly at break times. Ys5 & 6 are in mixed classes anyway.

In her last school - huge state primary - they were generally kept in year/age groups in classes, but all mixed at breaks. DD had friends of all ages.