Pip's missing childhood friends

One thing I thought was odd about Pip's childhood is that he does not seem to have any male friends his own age. He has Joe who is twenty years older than him and more like a father than a friend. He also has Biddy, but she's a girl who helps him with his learning. It seems that at school, most the other children mess around while the teacher doses off, which does not suit Pip because he wants to learn. Maybe this means he does not get on with the other boys. However, later on, he says he was good at all sports that country boys do well at, so presumably Pip did play with other boys. He lived in the same small town until he was eighteen. Surely he must have had other friends.