September means a new start for many thousands of children and adults in Bristol. As the first term of the academic year gets under way, we talks to some people who are taking their first steps on a new course.

The reception pupil:

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George Pearce absolutely can't wait to start school. He has practised packing his Dr Who lunchbox several times and his red and black uniform is ready.

George, who was four in May, is joining a reception class at Parson Street Primary in south Bristol. He is familiar with the surroundings, because his older brothers Louca, 14, and Alexei, 12, both went to the school. George has attended Parson Street's nursery class part-time last year.

He has visited his new class and his family have filled in a booklet telling the school about his favourite things.

He said: "My teacher is Miss Honeychurch. She is very nice."

While George is undoubtedly looking forward to school, his mum Maria has mixed feelings about this big step for her youngest child.

She said: "I am upset that the baby of the family is going to school but I know it is a natural progression and I am pleased and excited for him. I know he is going to have so much fun."

Mrs Pearce, 37, and her husband Michael, 37, a mechanical engineer, of Bedminster Road, are have helped George prepare for school.

His new school shoes have Velcro fastenings and are a big hit because they contain an action toy, while his lunchbox has a zip so it is easy to open.

Mrs Pearce is pleased that the school has a strong system in place to help children settle in, including phased starts and a separate playground for reception pupils.

She said: "It is very reassuring."

She is planning to increase her hours at work and there is a particular bonus to her job: she works at Marksbury Road Library, which Parson Street pupils visit every week, so she will get the chance to see her son during his school day.

The junior pupil:

Seven-year-old George Hutton has mastered the art of tying a tie ready for his start at QEH Junior School in Clifton.

The uniform is one of the biggest changes about the move for George, who used to go to Clifton High School.

He explained: "There we had a red jumper, white top and blue shorts. Here we have a blazer, a tie, grey trousers and a white shirt. I know how to do the tie. Mum taught me and dad."

George will join his brother Johnnie, nine, at the junior school while it is a new start too for eldest brother Joe, who is moving on to QEH Senior School.

Mum Catherine is confident that the move to the all-boys school, where fees are £6,275 a year, will benefit George.

She said: "Clifton High is a fantastic school and gave them a wonderful start but when QEH started its junior school two years ago we decided or various reasons to send our sons there. I think the single-sex school is good for boys. I didn't start out believing that, as I went to a co-educational school, but There is no doubt that there are differences in the way boys learn."

Mrs Hutton, 45, a full-time mum, and her husband David, 41, a solicitor, are sure their youngest boy will settle in quickly to the 80-pupil school.

George has one friend from Clifton High moving on with him and met some of his future Year 3 classmates for a picnic and game of football before the start of term. He also knows the school and , having been there to collect his brothers every termtime day for the last two years, and knows the teachers. and other staff.

"He knows where the biscuits are kept!" said Mrs Hutton, of Miles Road, Clifton.

The headteacher:

Not only is Livvy Sinclair-Gieben a new head teacher, but she is taking charge of a completely new school.

St Peter's Church of England Primary School in Bishopsworth opens today. It has been formed by the merger of Highridge Infant and Bishopsworth Junior schools.

Over the summer, building work has been carried out to create a new staff room and a new kitchen.

"It has been fantastic," said Miss Sinclair-Gieven. "Everyone has worked so hard to get it ready."

Staff have been in during the break and for inset days and on Monday the 260 pupils will arrive, wearing their new royal blue uniforms, which bear the school logo. Every child has been given a free sweatshirt and book bag.

Miss Sinclair-Gieben, 33, took up her post in April and has worked with parents to address any concerns they might have about the new school.

She has also worked with children on the school's value of Koinonea, a Greek word meaning the development of community

One of her priorities for her first year is to ensure that every child leaves the school able to read, so the new school will have several library areas where children can have access to a range of books and other reading materials.

Miss Sinclair-Gieben, who began her career in Somerset, and has taught in four other schools in Bristol – Parson Street, St Anne's Infant, Oldbury Court and Cabot – is delighted that her first headship is at a new school.

She said: "I am glad I have done it this way. It means we are all starting together. It is a big challenge, but I am really excited about it. I absolutely love teaching. I love the fact that as a head I will have the chance to have a wider impact on children's learning."

The secondary school pupil:

Abigail Price is confident she will enjoy being a student at her local secondary school but admits to a little apprehension about her first day today.

The 11-year-old has visited Brislington Enterprise College many times over the past year but now she is about to go there for real.

"I am a little bit nervous –but everybody probably is. I am very excited too. The school is very impressive," she said.

Abigail will walk to school from the family home in West Town Avenue with her brother Jack, 12, who was one of the first intake at the £30-million new buildings a year ago.

She is lucky that many of her friends from West Town Lane Primary School will be going there too. Brislington too.

The school runs a system of "schools within a school" and all 270 pupils starting this September will be in one of two "learning communities", Panther and Cougar, with Year 8 pupils. Abigail will be in Panther, and will wear an orange lanyard over her BEC sweatshirt.

Her mum Lisa, 36, an accounts clerk, is happy at the way the school helps new youngsters settle in.

"I went to the original Brislington School myself, I don't understand all the new systems, but they seem to be working well. Jack likes the school and I have no worries about Abigail," said Mrs Price, whose husband Jason, 41, is a policeman.

The design of the new school and the fact that many lessons are within the confines of the community area mean that Abigail does not have the fear common among children starting secondary that they will get lost.

Abigail added: "I think I can find my way around easily. I am looking forward to doing new things and making new friends and I am not worried about any of the lessons. My favourite subject is maths. I am just worried about what is going to happen on the first day and what I am going to do."

The teacher:

September 2009 marks a major new start for James Hall, who has changed career to become a teacher.

He has just started his first job in education at John Cabot Academy in Kingswood, after more than two decades working in the design field.

Mr Hall, who has lived in Bristol since 1990 and is in his late 40s, decided on the switch so he could share his love of design with a new generation.

He said: "I worked in different areas in design, including advising specialist filming teams, work for television and corporate work for exhibitions and so on.

"One part of my job that I really enjoyed was bringing on new talent, encouraging people to fulfil their potential. I decided to take that a stage further by becoming a product design teacher."

So, after completing a postgraduate certificate in education at the University of the West of England, he is in a position to follow his dream.

He added: "I have a passion for design and I want to instil that in my students. coaxing out the talent they have got. Perhaps we will find the new James Dyson in Bristol. I think there is room for more homegrown talent."

Mr Hall hopes his prior experience will help him bring the outside world into the classroom, to the benefit of his students.

He has survived his first lessons with Year 7 and Year 9 and says fellow staff have been very supportive and welcoming.

But he admits working in education will take some getting used to.

He said: "It is all incredibly different. The structures are different, the expectations are different. In the commercial world, work is project-based, whereas in school there are more ongoing issues. But there are more similarities than you might think."

The university student:

Danii Yea will be the first in her family to go to university when she starts at UWE in Bristol later this month.

She will leave the family home in Copthorne Close, Hengrove, where she lives with mum and dad and sisters Sharlee, 19, and Jaimie, 16, for a student flat in central Bristol.

From there, she will use the Ulink bus service to travel to the University of the West of England campus in Frenchay, where she will study law.

Danii, 18, a former student at Hengrove Community Arts College, gained an A and three Bs in her A-levels in law, drama and theatre studies, psychology and critical thinking at City of Bristol College.

She thinks her experience at the college, which has helped her become self-sufficient, will stand her in good stead as an undergraduate.

"I was able to take control of things myself and to have my independence. It was much better than being at school," she said.

Danii is looking forward to life in the accommodation in Nelson House, which she will share with several other students, after having a taste of flat-sharing during a university summer school in Bournemouth.

Her mum Bernadette, 42, a personal carer and respite foster carer, and her dad Ian, 40, a location facilities driver for film production companies, are worried about how she will cope on her own but are proud of her achievements so far.

"I'm taking it step by step at the moment," Danii said. "I haven't got all the information through yet but I know the law course starts on September 21."

Danii has been working in TK Maxx to save for university and plans to continue there part-time during her studies. She has also secured maintenance grants.

"I've worked out that I should have enough to cover my rent and living costs for the first year, but after that it is going to become really hard."