He insisted on wearing his new school uniform and looked very grown up as he wandered off to the bus stop with his older brother. He had thrown a minor wobbly at breakfast when he discovered his new sweatshirt came almost to his knees and told me I had brought the wrong size and would make him look silly.

By the time he came home in the afternoon, he had changed his mind. All his mates had been attired in new oversized sweatshirts too, so he now considered it a 'cool look' and we had to prise it off him so I could pack it away for September.

Moving up to high school is so much easier for younger siblings. They have the benefit of an older brother or sister already there and have heard all about it, so there aren't too many surprises. Mum and Dad are also up to speed on how the establishment works, so we can ensure they turn up with the right kit at the right time and there are no embarrassing faux pas.

When our eldest went to high school for the first time, he came from a primary school outside the catchment area and didn't have the benefit of schoolfriends to move up with. He was physically sick some mornings, so nervous was he about getting on the bus.

With our youngest, it seems the bus journey was one of the highlights of his day.

Lunchtime was another. He has stuck rigidly to a packed lunch all the way through primary school, but was so impressed with the canteen, he's thinking he may swap to school dinners.

The size of the playing field was also a cause for wonderment. That's the thing about high school – everything is so much bigger than primary school, especially the older year groups.

Children go from being the biggest pupils in primary school to being the smallest at high school and that can be quite intimidating for them. "I thought I was going to get bullied," he said, "but everyone was alright!"

Phew! That's one less thing to worry about.