Ask Sam letter

Hi there,

Thanks for writing to me and telling me about how hard it is for you to know that you’re moving school and that you won’t get to be with your friends in the same way.

I’m not sure whether this move is because you’re in primary school and will start secondary school in September, or if there’s a different reason for this change. But I do know that whatever the reason, change can be really difficult as it often will mean not knowing what the new thing will be like.

I can hear that the thought of leaving your friends behind is really upsetting for you. It sounds like things won’t be the same again. I don’t know whether this is something you’ve spoken to your friends about or whether you’re able to stay in touch with them at all. Whilst you won’t be at school with them, you might find that it’s possible to meet up at weekends or school holidays. If you’re moving a long way away there’s always email, social networks and phone calls to keep you in touch.

Some people find it useful to make memory boxes with their friends. This is where you write down favourite memories, take pictures together and keep them in a box. When you’re missing your friends, you could get the box out and all the things that you put in there together will still be there to remind you of how much you love them and the good times you had together.

It might be that you feel sad for a while. It’s okay to feel sad – it’s a really natural reaction to having such a big change. My best advice would be not to keep your sadness bottled up. Get all the support and care that you can to help you through it. Have you thought about contacting ChildLine and talking to a counsellor?

You could also post something on the ChildLine message boards and get support from other young people. There’s also a really good creative tool that you can use to express your feelings. You can keep the pictures you make to yourself or share them with a counsellor via email or in the ChildLine gallery.

I wish you lots of luck at your new school. The new friends you could make there won’t be the same as your old friends, but it’s possible that they will become just as important to you in time. In the meantime, don’t forget that ChildLine is there to support you.

Take care,
Sam