‘The most important thing in first grade is to make friends’

Being a schoolchild involves academic and social competencies often expressed from the viewpoints of politicians, researchers or parents. This article focuses on pupils’ views, highlighting their experiences and reflections and aiming to give the pupils a voice in education. The study is based on data from 39 group interviews with 115 first-grade pupils. The analysis identified three main themes seen as vital to mastering the schoolchild's role: (1) understanding school, (2) academic adjustment and (3) social adjustment. The analysis further revealed that pupils drew on two horizons of interpretation shaping their understanding of how to be a pupil: school and preschool. Six factors, differently positioned to the two horizons of interpretation, were identified: play, friends, co-determination, spare time, work and discipline. Based on pupils emphasizing friendship and social skills as significant success factors, teaching incorporating both academic and social aims need to be prioritized for the youngest pupils.