Influence of such factors as peculiarities of shared activity, group norms and values on relations between peers in a class has been studied with the help of a traditional sociometric procedure and an interpersonal attraction questionnaire. Eight VIII-grade classes participated in the study. The classes differed in the degree of the collectivistic maturity (low/high) and in the general orientation (learning/communication) -the latter dichotomy is introduced and substantiated in the paper. The most "favourable" relations have been revealed in classes characterized by the communicative orientation and high level of the collectivistic maturity.