Thank you for offering a positive side to look at in this current state of war. I'm glad you found your friend back and that your friendship was birthed and has grown stronger through the difficulties. I can relate to the emotional and physical mismatch you felt when you were one year ahead in class. Being in advance probably sparked some jealousy amongst the other kids (as it did with me). I feel my social development and integration was impaired because of this.
When my son's teacher suggested we have him skip a year, I wasn't thrilled at all. But I decided to have my son decide himself. I told him about being smaller than the rest. He said he wouldn't mind, but he couldn't stand being bored in class. Thankfully, up till now, it has worked out much better for him than for me.