Romance and GCSEs on the curriculum as our Kent pupils head into year 10

Our Kent children, once worried about 'big school', are now going into 'the year of parties'. Janet Murray finds out how they are faring.
Plus, see how they felt in year 6, year 7, and year 8
Gabriel and Tayla at Dane Court school
Gabriel and Tayla at Dane Court school. Gabriel says he is quite nervous about starting GCSEs, while Tayla says there is a lot of pressure to look good. Photograph: Manu Palomeque

When Education Guardian first met our group of children from Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, they were just at the end of primary school, and nervous about moving up to "big school". Back then, their concerns were whether they'd get lost in the corridors and being separated from their old friends from St Saviour's primary school.

Living in one of the 36 local authorities that still have grammar schools, these children also had the 11-plus exam to contend with and the division between those going to grammar school and those going to secondary modern. Two of the children were off to Dane Court grammar school in Broadstairs and three to King Ethelbert school, a non-selective high school at nearby Birchington.

Three years on, our teenagers are now the big kids, just going into year 10 – with parties, romances and GCSEs to worry about. How do they feel now about the selective system? And what are their hopes and fears for the future?

Gabriel, 14, Dane Court grammar school

I'm quite nervous about starting GCSEs next year. I'm in a musical theatre and dance troupe, which means travelling to London at weekends for rehearsals and performances. I also spend at least two hours a night practising routines, so I'm worried about how I'll find time for homework.

We do exactly the same work here that they do at other schools – we just move at a much quicker pace, which can make you feel a bit pressurised. But that doesn't mean we're necessarily any smarter than people at comprehensive schools. Without tutoring for the 11-plus exam, two-thirds of us wouldn't be here.

People aren't generally naughty here, but if you do something bad you get put into isolation, where you have to do all your work in a room on your own. Someone I know got put in isolation for having their hair dyed pink; having bright-coloured hair affects your learning, apparently …

I used to mess around a bit when I was in year 7, but I'm much better now. I still managed to get three detentions this year though. I thought my parents would kill me – and they did. They've got their heart set on me staying on for sixth form, but I want to go to a performing arts school instead. I definitely want to work in musical theatre, and if I do A-levels, it could cut two years off my career time.

Now we're getting higher up the school, everyone's talking about boyfriends and girlfriends. It's all very complicated and people can be very secretive about their relationships. You don't find out it's official until they change their status to "in a relationship" on Facebook. But I'd rather not get into any of that. I'd rather just sit down and have a nice cup of tea.

Cameron, 14, King Ethelbert school (non-selective)

One of the best things about this year has been joining the school council, which means I get a say in how the school is run, from how many bins we have in the playground to what the new website should look like. I also got chosen to help show visitors around the Turner Gallery in Margate as part of a school art project, which was fun.

Now everyone is growing up, the boys muck around in class a lot more to try and impress the girls. They all try to show off their muscles and spike up their hair to look cool. The girls are all into fake tan, nails and hairspray. I've had a girlfriend for about four months now, which I do get teased about, but I try not to take it seriously.

Some people come into school and boast they're smoking and drinking at weekends, but I don't know if that's true. One of my friends tried smoking, but he just ended up coughing. There are lots of jokes about cannabis. People will pick up a leaf and be like "I've got weed!" but I don't think anyone really wants to take it.

I've chosen to do media, ICT and applied science next year because I want to be a movie editor and I thought those subjects would help. I'm looking forward to starting GCSEs, but I'm a bit worried about the workload. I guess I'll have to cut down on gaming so I've got more time for homework.

I think it's right that people go to different schools depending on how brainy they are. My brother goes to grammar school and gets loads of work. If you have the potential, I think you should go to a higher school where you can learn more.

Lewis, 14, King Ethelbert school

I'm really excited about starting GCSEs. It's the first time we've been able to decide what subjects we want to study. As well as English, maths and science, which everyone has to do, I've chosen sports, French, ICT and media – which I thought would be useful as I want to work in the film industry.

Our teachers are always saying to us that we need to work hard or we won't get enough qualifications to get a job. I try my best to keep focused because I really want to go to university.

I sometimes wonder if I should have taken the 11-plus. I just didn't have the confidence at the time. But I think I can still do well here. Some of my friends who go to grammar schools say there's a lot of pressure to get good grades. I'm happy here, where there's no pressure.

We had Ofsted in recently and I noticed my English teacher was suddenly very organised and her desk was neat. We were all very supportive though; we made sure we looked like we were having fun and no one was naughty.

Now everyone is growing up, there is a bit of peer pressure. When I'm out, I'll see people from school and they'll be trying to get you to try a cigarette or buy condoms, but I'm just not interested.

Tayla, 14, Dane Court grammar school

This is the year of the parties. I've been invited to 11 over the summer holidays, although I don't know if my mum will let me go to all of them. There's a lot of pressure to look good and to have a new outfit for every party. The boys are all trying to get six-packs and the girls are doing the squat challenge (an online exercise programme) so they can get in shape for the summer.

In years 7 and 8, there was quite a bit of squabbling in our class, but now we have a lot of fun. A couple of weeks ago, one of our teachers was away, but no one came to take the lesson. We should have told a teacher, but we agreed to stay there and not tell anyone – until someone grassed us up.

Another time when a teacher was away, we hid the cover work from the supply teacher. But it's just mischievousness: I actually think we're the most well-behaved form in our year.

I've chosen German, history, food technology and sports leadership for GCSE. I'm also doing triple science, which you can only do if you get a recommendation from all your science teachers. Every report card we've had since we started at the school has had our predicted GCSE grades on it – mine are still mostly As and Bs. I want to do law at university, so I know I'll need really high grades.

Our teachers have very high expectations, but it feels unfair sometimes because some people are just naturally smart. They don't do their homework and just seem to memorise every lesson.

Ellie, 14, King Ethelbert school

It was hard choosing my GCSE options because I wanted to do both drama and music, which are on at the same time. I asked my drama teacher what she thought and she said I'd probably get a D because most of the course is choreography, which is not really my thing, so I decided to go for music. Also the music course is a BTec qualification, which is all coursework, which I think will be better for me.

I want to be a primary school teacher when I'm older, which means I need to get good enough grades to go to university.

I don't think it will affect me, but I've heard the government is getting rid of coursework altogether. I think that would be a bad thing as exams just test your memory, rather than what you've learned how to do.

When they were very young

How the children felt in year 6

Gabriel: 'My mum cried when she knew I'd passed the 11-plus. If I get a detention, my parents will kill me'

Cameron: 'I'm worried about whether I'll remember to put the right books in my bag on the right days'

Tayla: 'I'm worried about starting again, going from being at the top of the school to being at the bottom'

Lewis: 'I'm a bit scared, because I've never been on a bus on my own. The older kids might say bad things or swear'

Ellie: 'When you see secondary schools on TV, there's always bullying and teachers shouting'