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Abstract <br/><br/>Behind every uphill walk to school is a learner quietly climbing academic, emotional, and life challenges, and learning how to survive them. This study aimed to find out the perceived struggles of Grade Six learners and their coping strategies in a selected district during the school year 2025-2026.<br/><br/>This study was conducted in July 2025, involving 158 Grade Six learners who served as respondents from all upland public elementary schools in a selected district in one of the school divisions in Region VI. Data were gathered using a questionnaire-checklist on struggles and coping strategies that was personally developed by the researcher. Mean, percentage, and standard deviation were utilized as descriptive statistical tests, and the Mann-Whitney U Test, Kruskal-Wallis H Test, and Spearman rho were used as inferential statistical tests, set at a 0.05 alpha level in a two-tailed test. All computations were processed through the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 26.0.<br/><br/>Findings revealed that learners in upland schools generally experience a Not much a struggle level of perceived struggles, with certain areas like fatigue and lack of school supplies being perceived as very low severity. The level of struggles was Not much a struggle across various variables, except for learners with parents in the professional sector, who reported not a struggle. Learners' coping strategies, both problem-focused and emotion-focused, were generally high, regardless of sex, parents' occupation, number of siblings, and parental presence. There were no significant differences in learners' perceived struggles and coping strategies when classified by sex, parents' occupation, family size, and parental presence. However, a significant relationship was found between learners' perceived struggles and problem-focused coping, but not between perceived struggles and emotion-focused coping.<br/><br/>Learners in upland schools face manageable challenges, showcasing resilience and strong coping strategies. A proposed program could enhance outcomes by addressing these challenges and building on existing strengths, with community involvement being key to its success.<br/><br/>Keywords: Learners' coping strategies, learners' perceived struggles, emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping, upland schools |