Ask Sam letter

Asker

To Sam

Going to year 6

It's currently the summer holidays and in a few days I go back to school and I'll be in year 6. I can bearly sleep because of I'm scared of not having enough time by myself and with my friends and also making YouTube videos. My year 6 teacher was my year 4 teacher and she was really strict then and set us 3 pieces of homework a week spelling and sentences, online math homework and book reviews. Even that was all too much and apparently she will be stricter in year 6 and set more homework but I feel like I'll find it too hard or I won't be able to spend time with my family or go to the park with my friends.
Ask Sam

Sam

Hi there,

It’s normal to feel anxious or nervous about starting a new school year. But teachers know that September can be a difficult time for pupils.

If you do start to feel like the homework is too much to cope with, it’s important to try and let someone know so you can get some support. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to your year 6 teacher, have a think about talking to another member of staff who you get on with. When teachers set homework they are trying to help you to learn, so they’ll want to know if the work feels too difficult.

It’s possible that other people may be feeling just as scared as you are, so perhaps you could try talking to your friends about it. It sounds like your family are important to you, so I’m wondering how much they know about how scared you’ve been feeling. Sometimes bottling fears up can make them seem even harder to cope with, so perhaps you could have a go at letting someone at home know how worried you are.

If you’re not sure about talking to someone you know, you can use our School message board to speak to other young people about these worries. You could also talk to a ChildLine counsellor at any time.

Thanks for getting in touch,
Sam

Need help straight away?

You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.

Ask me a question

You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.

Write me a letter