I have recently just finished my first year at university and in regards to the difficulty, for me at least it was fairly easy. For my uni at least you simply had to get 40% overall for each module, meaning that as long as I put it some effort and more importantly made sure to hand it in on time I was all good.

In terms of freshers week, in my experience it was just a week of drinking and getting to know people. If you're not a big fan of the clubbing and pub scene though there is still plenty to do during the week. There are tons of different events that you can take part in, with various different societies and clubs you can join including most sports, video gaming and a ton more that typically differ from uni to uni. If you are interested in the drinking side of freshers week though there should also be a lot of events on at the clubs and pubs. Overall freshers week for me at least was very fun and laid back with near to no real work to do.

Before going to uni I was also unsure of how to make friends in the new environment, so I really tried to make the effort and talk to people on my course and in my accommodation which consisted of 7 people including myself. I ended up becoming good friends with 3 of the people in my house which then lead to me getting to know other people they had met. So all in all just be yourself and talk to people, as most people are in the same position as you.

Hope this is at least somewhat helpful :)