Depends upon the school like most other things, the secondary school where I went from 16-18 which I believe is what is similar to "high school" in  Britain was amazing, it was  even when i learnt to play poker in the library.  Your correct that lerning how to do stuff yourself is a good idea. I'd recommend for example not using a tray but holding a plate in one hand and then sitting down if you have a cane, though if you have a guide dog this is more difficult sinse you need one hand for sygnals.

People will need to get used to you but if you've got a decent school with reasonable people it should work out well.

Have fun, I did.

It can be a bitch finding people to fit in with. I was just crazy and people liked that, hell, I'm still crazy, heh. There's politics there though, some people are cool, others stuck up, there are definitely cliques. Also try to cut down on the blindisms, be aware of your body language, try not to rock back and forth, side to side, etc. people can be shallow at that age and dismiss you because your behavior, to them, is offputting. Learn how to advicate for yourself, including talking with teachers, counsellors at the school, etc. If you work hard and try everything and don't pull the blindie card out right away, they will start to trust you, and you can then discuss with them, councellors, what you need, what you can and can't do, etc. And remember, just because you hang out with people in school doesn't mean they're your friends. always remember that true friends are hard to come by. People you can trust are people who come to your house, invite you to to their house, etc.At least if you hang out with people after school, then they're more likely to be a good friend.

Speaking for myself switching to a non-specialized school, going to a public school, was probably the best decision I ever made. That said, I had a lot of help during that transition which you may or may not have, but it really made all the difference for me.

In my 10th year of school I decided I wanted to go to my local high school which was closer, a lot of my friends went their, but of course it wasn't specialized. So I had a little difficulty of getting people to allow me to make the change, but as I said above I got a lot of help initially and it worked out well in the end.

For one thing the high school I attended already had a couple of disabled students who were in wheel chairs etc and the school had hired an aid to attend to their needs. What they did when I started school is assign that aid to me on days when I needed a reader-writer for tests, for library time, and she was also available when I needed her such as helping me get my lunch during lunch hour or helping me walk to and from the school annex building.

I found in time though that I needed her less and less because I had made friends who were more than willing to help me get something from the cafeteria during lunch time or who would walk with me to the school annex for gym or band classes. So while a special aid was available if I needed one I found just being social, making friends, communicating my needs to whoever was around me, I could often get buy on my own and without any special support.

Another thing that helped is I had a life long membership to RFB&D, now called Learning Alley, so when school started I got the names of the books I'd need, placed an order to RFB&D, and got them mailed to me on tape or in braille. As a result just by being a bit assertive, taking my own accessibility needs into my own hands, I was able to take what may have been an accessibility concern and turn it into a pretty minor problem for everyone involved. All it really took is using what resources I already had in place to make the transition possible.

So moral of the story is a blind person can get along just fine in a public school. If that person is generally independent, is good about taking responsibility for his or her needs, and isn't afraid to make friends and contacts it will work out just fine in the long run.