I am finding it hard to make friends at my new school, what should I do?

When you go to a new school it is always a daunting time.

Often you will find that people know each other from beforehand - kids they want to an earlier school with perhaps.

Or maybe those that live close to them they already know.

It is particularly hard if you are naturally a quiet and shy person and in this case you will need to make a special effort.

Be as smiley, friendly and approachable as you can be no matter how daunted you are.

Other children will appreciate this and by being nice and trying to join in on conversations where possible you should start to be able to make friends soon.

Also in some classes where you work in groups see if you can identify people that you think you like and get on well with and start talking to them.

By making an effort to be sociable and talk to people you should start to make friends. What you must not do is get scared of talking to new people and making friends and hide yourself away as that will make it even harder in the long run.

If there are any after school activities or sports or other groups you can join in with this is an excellent way to get to know other students and so taking part in some of these is a great way to make new friends.