7yo son won't talk about his feelings but is so angry at times

[Emotionallydrained]

I have a 7-year-old son, who is normally extremely easy-going and does not cause us any problems at all. However he has real difficulty in talking about his feelings - he just refuses, or makes something up just to shut me up. Recently however he has been getting so angry - usually at me - and I don't know why. He is academically gifted and I'm not sure his (new last September) junior school is challenging him enough, and this may be at the root of his unhappiness - but how can I know what is troubling him if he won't talk about it? Any advice would be really appreciated.

Could you have a talk with his teacher and ask how things are going at school? Do they provide him the work he needs? I've sometimes found chatting when we're in the car works - something to do with not having to look at each other's faces.