Bullying, exams and drugs - secondary school pupils reveal their hopes and fears

Children start secondary school worrying about bullying and how they will make new friends after the comfortably small world of primary school. By the time they hit their teens they are stressed out by exams and one in seven has taken drugs, according to a government survey of 115,000 pupils in England.

The revealing portrait of 10- to 15-year-olds suggests a generation of conscientious students who are deeply concerned about their own education and skilled critics of their classes and teachers. Many do voluntary work and sports - 40% exercise more than six times a week.

But it also reveals a significant minority who are regularly taking drugs, drinking and smoking, and who want more advice on sex. Somewhere after their 13th birthday rates of substance abuse and alcohol consumption increase, but for a hard core it starts even earlier: 5% of 10- to 11-year-olds had been drunk at least once in the four weeks before they were questioned.

It also suggests children would like more advice from families and peers. When their parents are not available - or they choose not to approach them for advice - 15% deal with problems in silence rather than turning to a friend or teacher.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Mori for Ofsted and the Department for Children, Schools and Families this summer, found that a third of 10- 15-year-olds say they have been bullied and a third of them say their schools do not do enough to prevent bullying. Four out of 10 want more help from teachers in school and another four out of 10 want calmer lessons. Half have already decided against going to university when they leave school.

Children worry more about exams than friendships and the future. Half of children are stressed about exams, 39% worry about friendships, 35% worry about school work, 32% worry about their own health and 30% about their future.

Some 86% of children claim to be healthy - despite the fact one in five children are expected to be obese by 2010. Nearly three-quarters said they had never smoked a cigarette and 80% of older children said they had never tried illegal drugs, but that changed with age.

The problems once children pass their 13th birthday are stark: Nearly 40% say they have been drunk more than once in the past month and 40% have smoked. A small minority have used harder drugs. Overall, 3% had tried sniffing glue and 3% said they had used a class A drug such as cocaine or ecstasy.

The survey was designed to influence policy-makers, to give them a sense of children's own impressions of the services they use and the challenges they face.

Ofsted's chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, said: "The survey presents much that is positive about life for children and young people today. However, it is also clear that more needs to be done to address children's and young people's worries and concerns about how safe they feel."

The children's secretary, Ed Balls, said: "This survey shows that the majority of children and young people in England today feel happy, safe, enjoy life and are doing well at school. But the survey also shows challenges and pressures that we need to address with decisive action."