How to Make Friends in Sixth Form (Even If You're New)

6 min read · Brainrot Test

To make friends in sixth form, say yes to everything in the first two weeks, use free periods to hang out in the common room or library instead of disappearing home, and join one enrichment activity that meets weekly. If you're new, people are more open in September than at any other time. If you're staying on, the trick is to mix outside your old GCSE group on purpose.

If your free periods keep vanishing into your phone instead of people, Check my brainrot shows you how much of your downtime is running on autopilot.

Quick context for non-UK readers: sixth form is Year 12 and 13 in England and Wales (ages 16 to 18), when you study A levels or similar. It can be part of your secondary school, a separate sixth form college, or a general further education college. It's roughly like junior and senior year in the US, or grade 11 and 12 in Canada.

New school vs same school: making friends in sixth form

Your strategy depends on which situation you're in.

If you're new to sixth form

You are not the only one. Sixth form colleges in particular are often almost entirely new students, and even school sixth forms take in people from other schools. Everyone new is looking for someone.

• Introduce yourself to the people either side of you in every class.
• Go to induction days and taster events, even the boring ones.
• Find the other new people. They're easy to spot: they look slightly lost in the common room.

If you're staying at the same school

Plenty of people on sixth form advice Reddit threads say they ended up lonely even though they stayed, because their friends went to college or chose different subjects. Fix that by:

• Saying hi to new joiners. You know the building; they don't. Offering directions is a free opener.
• Sitting with someone different in each A level class.
• Joining something your old group isn't doing.

The first two weeks (how to make friends in year 12)

September is the golden window. People are open, plans are loose, and nobody has a fixed group yet. Here's a simple plan:

Week 1

1. Learn two names in each class.
2. Ask one person to grab food at lunch or between lessons.
3. Join the year group chat if there is one.
4. Go to anything social that's organized: welcome events, freshers-style fairs, form socials.

Week 2

1. Message someone you clicked with: "Want to revise for the psych test together?"
2. Sign up for one enrichment option or club.
3. Spend at least one free period in the common room instead of at home or on your phone.
4. Say yes to one plan you'd normally skip.

It feels like a lot. It's only two weeks. After that, routines take over and friend groups start to settle.

Use your free periods (the underrated friend-maker)

Free periods are the biggest difference between GCSE and sixth form, and the biggest social opportunity. They're unstructured time with people your age, which is basically how friendships form.

How to use frees to make friends

• Common room: Sit at a shared table, not in a corner with headphones.
• Library study sessions: "Is anyone else doing the chem homework?" turns into a study group.
• Food runs: If people head to the shop or café, ask to come.
• Same-subject frees: If you share a free with someone from your class, that's an easy weekly hangout.

For a full menu of what to do in short and double frees, see our guide on what to do in a free period.

The phone trap in free periods

Here's the honest bit. Free periods are also where phones eat everything. Headphones in, scroll on, and an hour later you've spoken to nobody and done no work.

It's really hard to judge your own scrolling, because it feels like a break while you're doing it. Brainrot Test does that check for you: 17 quick taps about what you actually do when you pick up your phone, a brainrot score from 0 to 100 compared with everyone who's taken it, then a two-minute daily drill to win the time back. Check my brainrot

Clubs and enrichment: how to make friends in sixth form college

Most sixth forms and sixth form colleges run enrichment: sports teams, debate, Duke of Edinburgh, student council, volunteering, drama, music, subject societies, mentoring younger students and more.

Why it works so well:

• It's weekly. Repeated contact is how friendships form.
• It's mixed. You meet people from other subjects and other years.
• It gives you something to talk about. No awkward small talk needed.

Pick one thing you'd enjoy and one thing slightly outside your comfort zone. Stay with them past October half term, which is when most people drop out.

Sixth form vs college for friends: sixth form colleges and FE colleges are often bigger, so there are more people to meet but they're more spread out. School sixth forms are smaller and closer-knit. Either way, enrichment is where the mixing happens.

What to say: how to talk to people in sixth form

You don't need a big personality. You need a few easy lines.

Openers

• "Which school did you come from?"
• "Why did you pick [subject]?"
• "Did you understand any of that lesson?"
• "Are you doing anything for enrichment?"
• "Is this seat free?"

Moving from chat to friends

• "Do you want to revise together in our free tomorrow?"
• "We're getting food after, come."
• "Are you going to the [event]? Let's go together."

If you're shy

Making friends in year 12 when shy is about small steps. Start with one person per class. Use the lesson as your excuse to talk. Follow up by text if that feels easier: "hey it's [name] from sociology, did you get the essay question?"

Once you're settled, our sixth form tips cover the study side of year 12.

Spend your free periods on people, not the feed

In the next minute you can get your brainrot score from 0 to 100 and a tier against everyone who's taken it. Then one two-minute drill a day, with a streak that pauses (not resets) after one missed day, helps you put the phone down long enough to actually meet people.

Check my brainrot

FAQ

How do you make friends in 6th form if you don't know anyone?

Talk to the people next to you in each class, spend free periods in the common room, and join one enrichment activity in the first two weeks. Lots of others will be new too. September is the easiest time, so say yes to as much as you can.

Is it normal to have no friends in sixth form?

Yes, it happens a lot, especially if your GCSE friends left or you moved schools. It's usually temporary. Joining a weekly club and sharing free periods with classmates are the fastest fixes.

What does sixth form advice Reddit say about friends?

How to make friends in sixth form Reddit threads mostly say: don't go home in every free, join something, and talk to people in your classes. Many also say friend groups in year 12 shift a lot, so it's never too late.

Is it easier to make friends in sixth form or college?

It depends. School sixth forms are smaller, so you see the same people more. Sixth form colleges and FE colleges are bigger, with more people to meet and more enrichment options. Both work if you use free periods and clubs.

How do I make new friends in sixth form when my old friends left?

Sit with different people in each subject and join an activity your old group isn't in. Be the person who helps new students find their way around. Then turn one good chat into a plan, like revising together in a free.