A convenience sample of 13 students aged 9-16 years participated in this exploratory phenomenological study of what high- and otherwise-achieving students' expected they would experience when engaging in classroom group work. From questionnaire and interview data, students generally expected small group sizes, were divided about who forms groups, and expected to find teachers sitting at their desks. High-achievers expected group work less frequently, that their contributions are appreciated, and that they work equally hard in groups or independently. Otherwise-achieving students expected to work less hard in groups, more often expected negative social experiences and to divide tasks (cooperative learning); high-achievers expected to work together (collaborative learning). Seven potential contributing influences from the literature emerged in the interviews, and were supported as useful windows onto group-work expectations, as was examining learner expectations apart from preferences. Clearer, well-understood, group-work directions to students and more engaged teacher roles are among possible classroom-practice implications.