Ah year 7 seems a long way away now my DGD is in year 10. She started a new school for year 7 (All girls school) where none of her friends from primary were at, plus a lot of the year 7 girls had been in the lower school so all knew each other. She had friends at primary but was always on the shy side. However she made friends with a couple of girls who were also new to the school (but one of them left at Christmas!) and the other one knew she was leaving at the end of Year 8 - they were both American and going back home.
BUT she was ok and I think stood back and tested the water (as is her way) and she went to several sleep overs in her first term. She's only told me recently that the girls in her form thought she was "weird" when she first started...........and she talked of being glad for her 2 American friends who were new to the school - and said that by the time the one had left at Christmas the "others had let me in" so I was ok...........now please forgive me but I am a doting grandmother and not biased in any way you understand........but my DGS has always been very emotionally mature from a young age - and now at 14 she's more like 16. She's an only child (not through choice) and my son and her mom are both primary school teachers.
Sorry for the preamble - I just wanted to say that my DIL (who has year 6) says that the girls are easier in terms of behaviour but they can be very wearing in terms of the friendship groups and "falling in and out" - she often gets parents coming in asking if X can be moved from Y because Y has been spiteful to X and got AandB to be spiteful to her as well..(you get the picture)
My DGD tells me that there is a girl in her year who is Miss Popular, tall, pretty, sporty and gathers friends around her - apparently she has 2 best friends and then there are 2 "hangers on" and DGD makes me laugh telling me that when Miss P finds something funny and laughs, the 2 "besties" laugh as well and then the 2 hangers on laugh too. She says sometimes Miss P "banishes" the hangers on and tries to find replacements and succeeds.........but then they get dropped when she allows the original hangers on back in....!!
DGD has a small friendship group and they all seem really nice girls. She has not had it easy really because by the middle of year 7 she got quite bad acne (with the onset of puberty) and she still has it, though it's better than it was, and although they aren't allowed make up, she puts a thin foundation on which is a good concealer. BUT the one thing I am really proud of her about is that there is one girl in the year who nobody likes (I suspect she has AS or something similar) and no one talks to her except DGD and this girl told her recently that she was the best friend she's ever had............I felt so sad for this girl and so glad DGD had sussed that she probably had AS.
Guess I just want to say that I think girls' friendship groups can be tricky things and I think girls know how to be emotional bullies rather than physical ones...........but I'm sure with parents with good common sense who don't over react to things they will all fulfil their potential.
Polly I think the friendships will shift and shift again and again and best not to get too involved (unlike doting GMs!) and I'm sure your girl will settle - it's very early days and they're all coming into puberty so early these days, which doesn't help of course.
Wonder what you moms remember of your secondaries?
I loathed and detested mine but that's another story.
Be interested in your recollections though.