Following over 1,000 students from Grades 7 to 11, this Belgian longitudinal study draws an important distinction between being liked and being popular. Students who were well-liked by peers tended to show higher behavioural and emotional engagement at the start of secondary school, while those who were perceived as popular showed lower behavioural engagement and higher disaffection — particularly when popularity was combined with aggression. Both engagement and disaffection declined or worsened across secondary school for most students. The findings complicate simple narratives about peer relationships and school belonging, showing that social status and social acceptance are not the same thing, and that they carry very different implications for engagement.