Half of teenagers say that secondary school is less scary than they had anticipated in end-of-primary nightmares, a new survey shows.

In a poll of more than 2,000 teenagers, more than half (53 per cent) said that they were nervous about starting at secondary school.

But 48 per cent said that the experience turned out to be less frightening than they had anticipated. In fact, only 7 per cent thought it was more scary than they had imagined.

The teenagers admitted to a range of concerns about secondary school life. The most widespread was an inability to make friends: 41 per cent said that they were worried about this. And 26 per cent said that they were fearful of being bullied.

Almost one in three also had fears about the academic demands of secondary school: 29 per cent said that they were worried about being able to cope with the work. But 49 per cent said that they were looking forward to learning new things.

Rewards manufacturers School Stickers, which conducted the survey, also asked the teenagers whether they had any advice for pupils about to start secondary school.

Many of them acknowledged how overwhelming it can be to start a new term as the youngest people in an unfamiliar place. They recommended that Year 7 pupils pay attention, work hard and ask for help if they are worried about anything. The school building may seem enormous, they added, but pupils will quickly learn to find their way around.

“It’s like moving up a level in a game,” one teenager said. “It will be challenging but fun.”