ABSTRACT
Pupil anxiety revolved around five major issues: the size and more complex organization of the new school, new forms of discipline and authority, new demands of work, the prospect of being bullied, and the possibility of losing one's friends. Expressions of being 'frightened', 'worried', 'scared' and 'nervous' about going to the new school were often coupled with comments on its size. One of the most frequent sources of loud protest in the middle school came when a non-member of the group borrowed something without asking. Faced with one of the most significant transitions in their school career, pupils have to make profound emotional as well as intellectual adjustments. The myth also conveys a sense of harsher realities, where violence abounds, after the relatively cosy world of primary or first and middle school. This seems connected as well to the status inversion involved in the transfer - from the top of one school to the bottom of the other.
