This study explores the lived experience of mainstream education, as reported by three 13- to 14-year-old pupils with social, emotional or mental health difficulties (SEMHD), who currently attend alternative provision schooling (APS). Taking a qualitative epistemological approach, the methodology chosen for this study was an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The results of this IPA suggest that the transition from primary to, and through, secondary education, is a significant and inherently social process in which bullying and violence feature significantly. Furthermore, themes of isolation and desperation reflected SEMHD pupils' maladaptive coping mechanisms during periods of change and instability. The findings have important implications for the way that educational transitions are managed for pupils with SEMHD.