Secondary School Linking Teacher’s Pack

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Students from Oasis Academy Lister Park and Bradford Grammar School on their first link meeting, reflecting on identity and commonality.

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“…that was a great session"

"they are just like us!"

"I have made four new friends today”

"I have been challenged today... the stereotypes I hold have been destroyed”

"they think like us and do things just like us…”

Feedback from Year 10 students from two different secondary schools in Bradford following their first linking experience.

Identity

Diversity

Community

Equality

Linking and SMSCSpiritual, moral, social and cultural development is mentioned throughout Ofsted’s official school inspection guide. For a school to be outstanding, it should have a 'thoughtful and wide-ranging promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development'. Whereas, an 'inadequate' school will have 'serious weaknesses in the overall promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development'.

Below are the main definitions on SMSC as identified in the Ofsted School Inspection handbook. The points highlighted in yellow show areas that may be met through linking.

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Dear Parent/ Guardian,

Your son/daughter has been given an opportunity to participate in a School Link with another school in ____________________With the aim of supporting young people to explore identity, diversity and champion equality and promote community.

The link will run over three mornings during this academic year with the first event to be held on ___________________________. The dates for the other two mornings are still to be confirmed but we plan to run one event each term.

The main aims of the link are

To develop and deepen children and young people’s knowledge and understanding of identity, diversity, equality and community.

To develop skills of enquiry, critical thinking, reflection and communication. To develop trust, empathy, awareness and respect. To provide opportunities for children and young people to meet, build relationships, work together and

contribute to the wider community. To provide opportunities for adults who work with children and young people to share good practice,

increase understanding of the issues of identity and community in their districts and to broaden perspectives.

The first event will be held at_______________________ Staff from both schools and other organisations are working closely to plan activities that are based round the key questions: ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Who are we?’ which explore ideas around identity and diversity.

The staff from both schools will be running a range of activities, which our students will take part in alongside a group of Year 10 students from__________________. Part of the morning will include some shared refreshments. Both schools are working very closely together, and the event is supported by the Senior Leadership in each school and The Linking Network who have expertise in running events like this.

Please complete the slip below and return to __________________by________________________.

Yours faithfully,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 10 schools link

I have received information regarding the Schools Link between _________________and give my permission to take part in the activities run over three mornings.

Students’ name ____________________________________________ Form ________________

Emergency contact numbers on the day ______________________________________________

Any food allergies that we need to be aware of as there will be snacks served during the event. ______________________________________________________________________________

I give permission for photographs to be taken and used on social media Yes No

Parental/carer signature __________________________________________ Date ___________

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Below is an example of a letter to parents regarding linking…

First Meetings and IcebreakersWe have had countless first meetings between schools and it is fair to say that they can seem challenging. Especially when you see pupils retreat into the far corners and recesses of a room with their peers from the same school. But our experience has shown that it doesn’t take long to get pupils interacting and talking.

Students from Bradford Grammar and Oasis Lister Park on their first linking visit.

Creating a positive environmentUltimately for linking to be effective, we need to ensure that students have meaningful interaction and a safe space to share their thoughts and ideas in a cohesive way.

Learning from Social Contact Theory Research

In the Linking process we use the ideas outlined in Contact Hypothesis theory about how contact can reduce prejudice. We find it useful to have this theory in mind as a foundation for Linking work. The ‘intergroup contact hypothesis’ was first proposed by Allport (1954) and much further work has confirmed the importance of contact in reducing prejudice.

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‘The process moves ‘Us vs. Them’ to a more inclusive ‘We’.’ The aim over the timescale of the schools linking programme is that classes move from ‘us & them’ to ‘we’.

Researchers have found that there can be problems with getting a more prejudiced individual into the contact situation in the first place. Schools Linking programmes offer a structure in which all pupils can be engaged if the link is part of the core curriculum offer of a school for all pupils rather than a voluntary opportunity.

Positive effects of intergroup contact occur in contact situations which have key conditions in place. The key conditions are: meaningful interaction between individuals, equal status, intergroup cooperation, common goals, and support by social and institutional authorities. See table below:

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Setting Ground Rules and creating a ‘Safe Space’ Inevitably some rules will have to be set up at the outset around dialogue. Students must be made aware that they only need to share with one another what they feel comfortable about. This is especially important when doing work around identity.

It is quite effective to get pupils to create their own ideas of how they can create a Safe Space so that everyone feels comfortable and happy taking part.

“Everyone in this room is different, we all have different ideas, personalities, experiences, backgrounds, and today is a chance to get to know each other and tell our others about ourselves. Some people find it easier than others to talk about themselves, how can we

behave to make sure everyone feels comfortable, happy and supported in this space?”The PowerPoint slide below shows an example used by a teacher to facilitate difficult dialogues in small groups:

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Human BingoThis might look a little awkward for the first 30 seconds, but it generally works well once students start moving around the room. Getting staff involved is a great idea too. The game normally last around 3-4 minutes. Everyone or every pair needs a copy of the sheet and a pencil. You can download this sheet as a word document from the website and personalise it for the students you are working with.

Likes watching

filmsLikes

reading

Confident to speak in front of a

group

Dislikes having their

hair cut

Likes to dance

Likes pizza and chips

Is left handed

Likes running fast

Likes cats better than

dogs

Has met someone famous

Likes ice cream

Loves watching TV

The Rules:

Must be someone from the other school who can tick each box.

Teachers from each school can also get involved.

First person to get all the boxes shout “Bingo”.

Change PlacesIf pupils are a little more reticent than usual, this activity may work better than Human Bingo. It won’t take longer than five minutes. This could also be a good warm-up leading onto Human Bingo above.

Use aspects of the children’s and adults’ identity to get them to change places across a circle. Change places if you... have/are/like, etc. E.g. Change places if you like snow days... Change places if you like football... Change places if you like fruit, etc.

This activity may be followed up later in the classroom:

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“When we played Change Places with our linking partners, did a lot of people change places for……………………..?”

“Lots of us from both schools changed places for …………………………. What did you think about that?”

“Not many of our partner school changed places for ………………….

Were you surprised that not many of them liked …………………….? Why do you think that was?”

Invisible MeStudents work in pairs and interview each other to find three visible ways they are the same and then three invisible ways they are the same then different. After this, pupils gather into a larger group and share the similarities and differences they have found.

This activity takes around ten minutes. It is good to do this once pupils have been placed into smaller groups.

Year 9 pupils playing Geoscapes on their first linking session.

GeoscapesGeoscapes works well with secondary pupils and it’s always great to get teachers and other adults involved in the game too. Start with a large map of the world and get students to stand in front of the map. Use the map to locate North, East, South and West. Now imagining that the room they are in is the world, they will be asked to go to the part of the room which would represent each location. Get everyone to huddle in the centre of the room and then say the following:

“Please move to the place where you live at the moment”.

“Please move to the place where you were born. Talk to the people near you as to why you have moved”.

“Please move to a place where a Parent/ Carer born?” (There may be different places, just choose one).

“If you could go anywhere in the world…where would you go? Talk to the people around you”.

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“Please move to a place in the world that has had a positive impact on your identity- it might be a place you really feel at home, a great outing or visit, a place a family member lived, it might be your school!”

Ask the room for volunteers to share where they are standing and why at various points through the game. It is important that this is voluntary.

We have also used the game successfully to link with Human Rights. The game illustrates that we have freedom of movement and we have the freedom to share our own thoughts/ ideas that we want. You may want to print out colour copies of pages from the book ‘We are all born free’ and make these available after playing the game to stimulate a discussion.

You may want to show the Articles below on a PowerPoint too:

Article 13 of Human Rights: We all have the right to go where we want in our own country and travel abroad as we wish.

Article 20: We all have the right to meet our friends and work together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if we don’t want to.

Geoscapes should last approximately ten minutes.

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Whilst this book is designed for younger pupils, the images are excellent and have been used successfully at secondary level to stimulate discussion.

Exploring the Key QuestionsAs mentioned before, the typical proposed model for secondary linking (below) focusses on the key questions:

Term 1Who am I? Who are we?

Term 2Where do we live?How do we all live together?

Term 3Where do we live?How do we all live together?

Work in class / reflection timesExchange informationNeutral venue visit

Work in class / reflection timesExchange informationReciprocal class visits

Work in class / reflection timesExchange informationReciprocal class visits (if not completed in spring term)

Pre- session work in class may be difficult for some secondary schools to commit to. However, where possible it is always good to exchange information, even if it is something as simple as names and a group photo being emailed across.

Where bespoke linking is happening around curriculum, there may be also be a struggle to explore all four key questions in the way prescribed above. However, a pre-session with a focus on identity and commonality is essential- Who am I? Who are we? Where do we live?

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How do we all live together?

Who are we?

Who am I?

Where do we live?

The next few pages include some of the activities that we have used successfully with our links…

Values Rainbow

This is a good activity to use for all key stages at Secondary.

First and foremost, it is important to make it clear what a value is.

Give students the questionnaire below and make sure they understand that there are no wrong or right answers. Students will need to do the questionnaire on their own initially and then share their responses with groups of around 4-6 pupils.

Following this, they will need to find what values were rated in a similar way by other pupils in their groups. Pupils then need to list the values that they have all rated highly.

Students then present to the rest of the class about their group’s key values and why they feel such values are important.

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Values Questionnaire

Rate the importance of each area by drawing a circle on the lines below.

Remember everyone will not value all of these areas in the same way. Please rate each area according to your own personal sense of importance.

Area Completely Unimportant

Extremely Important

Kindness x x x x x x x x x x

Religion x x x x x x x x x x

Education x x x x x x x x x x

Family x x x x x x x x x x

Money x x x x x x x x x x

Friends x x x x x x x x x x

Health x x x x x x x x x x

Community x x x x x x x x x x

Success x x x x x x x x x x

Fairness x x x x x x x x x x

Loyalty x x x x x x x x x x

Love x x x x x x x x x x

Peace x x x x x x x x x x

Popularity x x x x x x x x x x

Reputation x x x x x x x x x x

Trustworthiness x x x x x x x x x x

Materialism x x x x x x x x x x

Quite Important

Creating the rainbow

Pupils are then given different colour labels to create a rainbow using information from all the groups collectively.

This whole activity should take around 20-25 minutes.

Invisible MeThe aim of the activity is to explore the similarities and differences within the group. Students are only expected to share what they feel comfortable in sharing.

They start the activity by doing the icebreaker on Page 19. They are expected to work with someone they don’t know very well. The instructions are to:

1. Talk to each other 2. Find three invisible similarities3. Find three invisible differences

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Following on from this they are expected to create an identity circle:

Draw a large circle in the middle of a piece of paper. Draw a picture of yourself in the center circle.

Then write about the different aspects of your identity in the outer circles or blobs. Remember, only share what you want to share.

It is a great idea for the person leading the session to create their own identity circle. It also gives the facilitator to say: “Here’s one I made earlier!”

Students should not spend longer than 10 minutes on their identity circles. This can be a challenge for the budding artists who want to get the self-portrait just right. Hence, it is important to steer the focus on the writing about identity!Following this, students can create an identity circle on “Who are we?” on A3 paper in groups of 4-6 pupils, highlighting the things that they have in common. Students may decide to give themselves a group name and put this name into the centre whilst others may attempt a group portrait. This activity works well with the values activity too and can therefore include agreed values of importance. The overall activity can take between 30-35 minutes.

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Identity Circles created by Year 8 students on their first visit:

SymbolsThe idea is to create a symbol or logo which represents the group. Students are encouraged to be as creative as they like when creating the symbols. In the past we have used ‘play doh’, Lego and cardboard to create three dimensional structures. However, the activities have also worked well using colours and plain paper. The main point is to get pupils talking about what they have in common before they create their symbol. Hence, the previous activities on values and identity can easily be combined with the Symbols activity.

Symbol created by Year 8 students from different Bradford Diocese Academies Trust Schools prior to their Maths challenge.

This activity may take a little longer than 35 minutes if attempting a 3D structure!

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Getting creative to promote dialogueIn our experience, it would certainly be a mistake to think that secondary pupils are any less enamoured than primary pupils by ‘play doh’, ‘lego’ or other creative ways to get them collaborating.

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On this page, we have some work by Year 10 students, who are exploring what Human Rights mean to them.

Using ‘play doh’, coloured card, tissue paper and other craft materials- they had to pick one Human Right that they felt was most important to them as a group.

Above, students starting their model on the importance of Article 9: Nobody has the right to put us in prison without a good reason, to keep us there or to send us away from our country.

Students creating a model on the importance of Article 28: We have a right to peace and order, so we can all enjoy rights and freedoms in our own country and all over the world.

Students have also used iPads to film their presentations in their groups. This allowed pupils to edit and carefully select what they wanted to say and gave an opportunity for some students who are less willing to stand up in front of their whole class to share ideas.

Time Activity Resources9.30- 9.40am Introduction about the day and welcome.

If waiting for one school to arrive, try Geoscapes with pupil’s present. Sticky labels for names.Make everyone aware of fire exits and toilets.

Details on how to lead Geoscapes available on website and in Secondary HandbookSticky Labels, Marker Pens

9.40-10.10am IcebreakersChange Places and Human Bingo

Details on how to lead Icebreakers available on website and in Secondary Handbook

10.10- 10.25am Groupings and Safe Space

Teachers to help facilitator to place students in groups of around 4. Aim for two pupils from each school. Make notes of pupils in each group, this way groups can be changed in future sessions.Pupils move to their desk.

Facilitator leads on how we aim to create a safe space, pupils suggestions and ground rules.Introduce the four key questions and focus on first three for today’s session:Who am I?Who are we?Where do we live?How do we all live together?

Details on creating a safe space available on Website and in Secondary Handbook.

10.25-10.40am Students fill out Values questionnaire

Pupils discuss with their groups the values they all rated highly.

Opportunity given for volunteers to share thoughts with the rest of the wider group.

Values questionnaire available on Website

10.40- 11.05am Invisible Me

Work with a partner on invisible similarities and differences.

Complete Identity Circles.

Invisible Me PowerPoint is available on the Website.

Pencils, Colours and plain A4 paper.

11.05-11.10am BREAK & REFRESHMENTS11.10am-12.00pm Symbols

Pupils to explore what Symbols are and why they are needed.

They are going to use the work they did in the first part of the morning to create a symbol to represent their group.

Symbols PowerPoint is available on the Website.

Craft materials and A3 paper.

12-12.10pm BREAK12.10pm-12.20pm Groups presenting their Symbols to rest of the group.12.20-12.30pm Pupil Evaluation and Goodbyes. Pupil Evaluation is available

on Website and in Secondary Handbook.

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Example of a Neutral Venue Visit TimetableExample of a Second Link Meeting Timetable at School

Time Activity Resources9.30-9.40am

Introduction about the day and welcome.Sticky labels for names.Make everyone aware of fire exits and toilets.Definition of Human Rights on the screen as students enter.

Exploring Human Rights PowerPoint is on the Website.

Sticky LabelsMarker Pens

9.40-10.05am

IcebreakersChange PlacesGeoscapesShow Article 13 and Article 20 of Human Rights on screen and link to Geoscapes.

Details on how to lead Icebreakers available on website and in Secondary Handbook.

10.10am-10.20am

Reminders about Safe Space and Groups

Teachers to help facilitator to place students in groups of around four. Aim for two pupils from each school using notes from previous sessions, try to mix up the groups.

Pupils have two minutes to decide on a Team Name for their group.

Facilitator reminds pupils on how we aim to create a safe space, ask again for pupil’s suggestions.Introduce the four key questions and focus on the last two for today’s session:Who am I?Who are we?Where do we live?How do we all live together?

Details on creating a safe space available on Website and in Secondary Handbook.

10.20am-10.35am

Introducing ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’.

Ask students what they know about Human Rights. Can have a discussion in groups.Look at slide 7, origins of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

On Slide 8 show them the ‘We are all born free’ video. Also available on this link if you are having problems with the PowerPoint:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9_IvXFEyJo

Ask groups to list How many Human Rights they can remember, and which ones are the most important in their view.

Exploring Human Rights PowerPoint is on the Website.

10.35-10.40am

Spectrum Line

Get students to line up in the classroom and show them the following

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two articles on slide 10.

Whilst both are important, ask pupils “if they had to choose between them, which one would you choose? There is no middle! When you get there, have a discussion as to why you have chosen your end”.

Give them an opportunity to change their mind and move if they want following their discussions.

10.40-10.50am

If I was a Billionaire

Hand out simplified version of ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ Go to the Human Rights on Education…all have right to an education…show on screen. Facilitator may wish to comment on how fortunate we are to be in part of the world that has free education. Also point out article on health. Once again can draw links with the NHS.

Introduce Bill Gates on slide 12.Then do Spectrum Line once again, slide 13- would pupils focus on education or health?Get pupils to go back to their groups…’what were your reasons for your choice?’ Allow time for group feedback and an opportunity to change their minds.Introduce Bill Gates and his work. Bill Gates and his wife decided to focus more on healthcare. Do they agree with their decision?

Handout of simplified version of ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ is available on the Website.

10.50-11am

BREAK TIME & REFRESHMENTS

11am -12pm

3D Models, scripts and filming

Slide 15 of PowerPoint

Get pupils to create a 3D model to represent the Article of Human Rights that their group thinks is most important to them.

Pupils will also need to script an explanation of why they think their article is especially important and relevant.

They will then need to film their group presentations using iPads.

iPads

Pencils, colours, A4 Card, coloured tissue paper, glue pens and other craft materials to help with building a 3D structure.

12.00-12.10pm

BREAK TIME & REFRESHMENTS

12.10-12.20pm

Sharing Presentations

Students can share their presentation with a table nearby and some can volunteer to share their presentation with the whole group.

12.20-12.30

Evaluation Pupil Evaluations are available on the website and in the Secondary Handbook.

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Example of a Third Link Meeting Timetable at SchoolTime Activity Resources9.30-9.40am Introduction about the day and

welcome.Sticky labels for names.Make everyone aware of fire exits and toilets.

Sticky LabelsMarker Pens

9.40-9.55am Icebreaker

Three Facts:

Students to find a partner from the other school that they have not had a chance to work or don’t know very well, (be a little flexible with this).

Each pupil has to say three facts about themselves, one of which is not true. Each student takes turns in guessing which one isn’t true.

Get pupils to sit in a circle, each pair writes down a fact that may or may not be true about themselves. The group has to decide if it is true fact about either one of them.

Details of further icebreakers are available on the website.

A4 paperMarker Pens

9.55-10.25am Bake off

"Bake off" session starts - all students working in small groups of 2-3. Teachers to plan the groups in advance. Students will be given a recipe without the final outcome so they wont know what they are making.

10.30 - finish in food technology dep10.30 - break (in classroom not with whole school)10.50 - brief tour/walk around the school11.10 - finish?

Access to Food Technology rooms.

The Linking Bake-off PowerPoint can be found with pictures and resources for this activity

10.25-10.35am Judge makes an entrance

Baking complete - Chief taster (Headteacher) comes in and decides on the winners

10.35-10.45am Clear up and finish in the Food

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Technology Department.10.45-11.00am Brief tour and walk around the

school.

This will be done when other students are not on break.

11-11.20am Celebration

Pupils get a chance to eat the food that they have prepared plus other refreshments and drinks.

Drinks and other refreshments

11.20-11.30am Evaluation Pupil Evaluations are available on the website and in the Secondary Handbook.

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Example of a Link Meeting with a clear focus on British Values (Rule of Law)

Time Activity Resources9.30- 9.40am Introduction about the day and welcome.

If waiting for one school to arrive, try Geoscapes with pupil’s present. Sticky labels for names.Make everyone aware of fire exits and toilets.

Details on how to lead Geoscapes available on website and in Secondary HandbookSticky Labels, Marker Pens

9.40-10.10am IcebreakersChange Places

Details on how to lead Icebreakers available on website and in Secondary Handbook

10.10- 10.25am Groupings and Safe Space

Teachers to help facilitator to place students in groups of around 4. Aim for two pupils from each school. Make notes of pupils in each group, this way groups can be changed in future sessions.Pupils move to their desk.

Facilitator leads on how we aim to create a safe space, pupils suggestions and ground rules.Introduce the four key questions and focus on the last one for today’s session:Who am I?Who are we?Where do we live?How do we all live together?

Details on creating a safe space available on Website and in Secondary Handbook.

10.25-10.35am Refer to the PowerPoint definition of Rule of Law. Get pupils to show their understanding of it by allowing them to define it in their own words or illustrate it using examples of their own.

Pupils to spend a couple of minutes on the importance of rules. Some pupils may wish to express some anarchist views which can lead to some interesting discussions led by the teacher.

See PowerPoint called a ‘World without Rules’ on the website.

10.40- 11.00am In small groups pupils play with different board games (snakes and ladders), once with rules. (5 Minutes)

Then without rules in place. Teacher to say the following:Listen to me carefully: “I no longer really care about rules. I’m just not that kind of person”. (5 minutes)

Turn to your partner. Teacher picks best feedback in the room. Which way was easier? How did it feel having no rules in place? Why are rules important? Do we need rules all the time?

Pencils, Colours and plain A4 paper.

11.05- 11.15am Card sort activity: Students to choose which ideas they feel Card Sort activity on the

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are most important for a country where we have rule of law… Go back to definition. (5 minutes).

Stable GovernmentEquality for allHuman RightsFair CourtsKindnessHonestyMoneySafetyFreedom

Blank spaces…ideas!

rule of law is available in the secondary area of the website.

11.10-11.20am Break and Refreshments.11.20- 12.00pm Creating pieces of Art on a large semi-circle. The classes will

be split into 2 groups. One group will focus on a world without rules and what that would look like. The second group will focus on a world with rules.

Students would move to the opposite semi-circle after 10 minutes.

Students could be given key words and newspaper clippings to help them with their art work. Art work is to emphasise the importance of following rules. It could be a piece of Art that gets people to think, does not have to be too obvious.

List the benefits of having rules in place.

Think about all the negatives about having no rules.

How would you get this across in art form?

See PowerPoint for further instructions.

12.00-12.15pm Pupils to present their art work to the rest of the class.This should take no longer than ten minutes; allowing for time to tidy up and throw all those unused clippings away into the recycle bin.

12.15pm-12.30pm Refreshment Break, Evaluations and Goodbyes. Pupil Evaluations are available on the website and in the Secondary Handbook.

Useful Websites:23

The linking network website:

http://thelinkingnetwork.org.uk/

At the top of the home page, click on Resources and follow the drop-down menu to Secondary Resources.

Departmental advice on promoting basic important British values as part of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-fundamental-british-values-through-smsc

PSHE Association Curriculum Guidance:

https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/curriculum-and-resources/curriculum

National curriculum: Citizenship programmes of study:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-citizenship-programmes-of-study

National curriculum: English programmes of study:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-english-programmes-of-study

Making social action part of life for 10-20 year-olds

http://www.iwill.org.uk/

Work in partnership with secondary schools to help young people to give their time to improve their local communities.

http://firstgive.co.uk/

Amnesty resources for Secondary Schools

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/resources-secondary-schools-and-further-education

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EvaluationName: School:

What did you like?

What has not gone as well as you would have hoped?

What have you learnt from this experience?

Do you have any questions?

Any further comments….

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Feedback from Secondary pupils in Bradford after their first linking session:“I liked that we had fun, and all bonded really well.’

‘I learnt that there are many meanings of diversity and it is easier to bond with unexpected people.’

‘I liked that we were all were involved in the activity.’

Enjoyed ‘getting to see the school and learning more about other students.’

‘I liked communicating with others and collaborating with each other to make an Art project.’

‘I liked making new friends.’

‘A fantastic day spent well.’

‘I learnt that it is important to socialise and understand other opinions and accepting them for who they are.’

‘I enjoyed today and look forward to meeting again.’

‘I liked being able to mix and talk about our differences and similarities’.

Enjoyed ‘meeting new people and creating a piece of artwork with my new friends.’

I have learnt to communicate not just with my friends but with other people.’

‘I liked finding out about other people.’

Liked ‘making the symbol and writing about things which are invisible to everyone else.’

‘At first I thought that there was no point in linking with them because they’re so different from us. But I changed my mind after I met them as I really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to today.’

‘I didn’t want to link as their school is so different from ours. But then we linked, and the students were really friendly. I realised that they were…what’s the word…humble I guess? They’re definitely different to how I imagined them to be.’

‘The more we meet, the better we’ll become at talking to them. I think they’ll help us to become more confident.’

‘I felt a bit weird, like I couldn’t completely be myself. I think it’s because we don’t know each other that well. The more we see each other, the better our relationship will become, and I think I’ll find it easier to be myself.’

‘I think linking is a good idea because it helps us with communicating with others. This will help us a lot later in life; like when we go to college or university’.

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