Summary.Attitude scales measuring various aspects of school life were presented to approximately 2,000 junior school children. Clear sex differences appeared in the attitude scores: girls tended to have more favourable school‐related attitudes, boys tended to have a better academic self‐image, to be better socially adjusted and to be less anxious in the classroom situation. In all attitude areas, brighter children tended to have more positive attitudes; also the tendency for more favourable attitudes was found for middle class children in contrast to those from working‐class homes. The findings did, however, suggest that the different attitudes of pupils of different social classes could partly be accounted for by their differences in academic performance, but this was not the full explan