Ask Allison: My son is struggling to fit in at secondary school and is upset about his sports performance

"My son has just turned 13. He is a year younger than most of his friends."

"He is football mad and plays GAA and soccer. He isn't the best player but not the worst either."

"When he meets up with his friends to play football, they have started to make fun of him if he misses a goal or makes a mistake. He then gets angry and that makes it worse."

"He has had a hard year settling into First Year in school and struggled to make friends as he was put into a form class with no one from his primary school class."

A 13-year-old boy is a year younger than most of his friends and is passionate about football, playing both GAA and soccer. He is an average player—neither the best nor the worst. When he meets his friends to play, they have begun making fun of him for missed goals or mistakes. He responds with anger, which escalates situations and worsens interactions. He experienced a difficult First Year at secondary school after being placed into a form class without familiar classmates from primary school. That lack of familiar peers, combined with sport-related teasing and his anger responses, has made settling in and forming friendships challenging.

Read at Independent