This article reports on a small piece of teacher research that examined the preconceptions held by pupils in mainstream and special schools about themselves, each other and their educational setting. A "circle time"-style interview was used in both educational settings to access the opinions of sixteen pupils with moderate learning difficulties. The research found that many of the pupils placed in a special school felt excluded from and fear of the mainstream pupils and environment. Contradictory to this, the mainstream pupils were generally positive about a move towards more inclusive practices. There was a clear focus in pupil comments on the creation and maintenance of social relations above learning needs, and bullying and self-esteem emerged as the two areas of pupil attitudes that could be potentially the greatest barriers to inclusive education.