I was bullied from the year dot at school soon’s I went there aged 4 in 91. Kid 2 doors away used to take the mic and get everyone else to join in. Soon the whole class was onto me, teachers never did anything and I was usually beaten black and blue and come home with bruises. This went on through my primary school years, used to get in trouble by others who would blame stuff on me and I was always at the headmasters office, he was so thick he never saw through the bullies and looked upon me as a whiney kid because I tried to explain what was happening to me. Mum was up the school most weeks sorting my problems out. Got as far as secondary school and obviously the idiots from primary went to the same school as me. I chose to go to a different school but my year 6 teacher had it in for me and made sure I was picked to go the the rubbishiest school in the area at the time. So when I got to year 7 I was still with the bullies from primary, this all carried on through most of my secondary school years, just the usual cuts n grazes, black eyes and what not. Whenever I fought back the teachers always caught me and not the bullies so of course I got the blame. By year 10 I just snapped one day and decked this supposedly hard bully who seemed to like holding me down on the floor kicking a football at my bollocks, when he finished I got up and knocked him out. People started to leave me alone in the end and when I got these so called hard kids on their own they freaked out and actually apologized. By the end of year 11 I had crap grades and pretty much no hope of getting anywhere.
Left school and it was lovely! no bullies giving me a hard time. I went to college in 03 till 04 and got my passes in admin, worked at my local college in 05 till 06 got more passes on that as it was a course/work placement. The qualifications brought my crap grades up from D,E,F’s to A to C’s. I started producing music in summer 2004 and used to find solace in music a lot of the time. By 2006 I had a track out on a youth music cd, by 2007 I was working again in admin, in May of that year I got on Radio 1 with one of my tunes. By 2008 and 09 I had further airplay on Radio 1 and ran my own radio station online from 09 till march 2012. By 2010 I was signed to a label.
Despite bits of bad luck in between I have managed to keep going and not crumble. At the moment Im working again and have a weekly radio show on Nu Rave Radio. I have some wicked friends and a loving mum and dad. I enjoy life immensely. I see these bullies around still and they are either drug addicts, banged up in jail, alchoholics, dead or just in general acting the same as they did at school they have never grown up. I can safely say I have done well and not let the bullies drag me down in my life. I can handle situations a lot better now and when challenged by morons I know how to diffuse the situation by using my whit and in general my head so that I dont get myself into bother. I am proud of who I am and of my achievements and no one can bring me down.
Due to my disability I was bullied from a early age about 5. When I went to comprehensive school got worse was called fat,ugly and a quiple. Due to my decreasing confidence I gradually cut down on food in end became annorexic over a period. I considered ending it all. Thanks to family especially mum got through together and has made me a stronger person now x
This is my son Joe’s story he was being bullied at school.
Hello my name is Joe, I was picked on at school because i didn’t join in some of the wrestling games at break time. The bullies said I would be in trouble if i told the teachers or my mum and dad. Joe had a few weeks when he would hardly speak to anyone,eventually he plucked up the courage to tell us what was happening at school, it was like a flood gate opening. The following day I spoke to his teacher and the school acted on it straight away. Joe now knows if it happens again he should tell someone and then he is not carrying the burden alone.
Hi this is on behalf of my son george, George was born at 23 weeks he was very premature ,as we all no premature babies suffer later on in life with problems. George – i had learning problems and I had behaviour difficulties ,also I had to wear glasses. People at all the schools I went Made my life miserable and sad.i was picked on every day for my glasses and they use to laugh at me and I got pushed about all the time. But I will say now I have Come out looking and feeling a better person .
This is my sons story. He is taller than the average teenager and looks hell of alot older than he is. He is only 13. For most of his life he has been picked on by name calling especially the word “fat” which is banned in our house. Yes he was q big lad and I mean was ad now he has lost tons of weight by not eating because of the name calling and living off chewing gum. When he first started senior school for the 1st 5 months he was absolutely covered in bruises all over his torso he told me it was rugby. And I though this was a rough game . Which one day he finally came and opened up to me and told me he was being beat up. The re teacher even actually saw one episode and said he thought he was playing a game . I called the police and they went into school but not alot was actually done. He gets called still now but not as much but it still hurts in his memories . This boy and his gang still roam around the school like not a care in the world . It makes me sick. Plus there are other stories but I would be here all day. This worof is cruel.x
My story… 13 and out as gay at school wasn’t a happy time. You tell a trusted friend and the next thing you know the form knows, then the year and by the end of the week it had got around the whole school. It had its benefits, It meant I could walk down the main corridor with a clear path, but it came with a chorus of “Backs against the walls boys!”. It was just the odd jibe to start with then it filtered into the classroom, PSE was the occasional nightmare, English wasn’t a bed of roses, a subject I struggled with anyway due to my dyslexia, but there were a few snide comments made while reading texts but the mare of them all was RE with a certain Mr W****** I won’t name him it’s not his fault, though he didn’t help! Whatever the topic of the lesson a certain student wanted to bring it round to sexuality, my sexuality. Due to section 28 (a law meaning teachers couldn’t talk homosexuality with pupils) Sir had his hands tied, he was a weaselly man anyway so he just let it happen and his lesson plans went to pot and the student had the control in the class. Due to this it spread out into the breaks and the way home, abuse just seemed to fly from all directions and as a new year came up they got to know who I was and they joined in. I just tried to take it on the chin and think will if they are picking on me at least they aren’t picking on anyone else, daft or grown up? Who knows? I didn’t tell anyone until at the Youth Club in year 10 it became violent with the said student hitting me none stop in the face and upper body, my said friend at the time stood back and let it happen and I just stood and took it. When I was picked up I just broke down and told my dad, a burden I didn’t want my family to have, My mum had been ill with cancer for the last 4 years and it was around this time we were told it was terminal. Dad was very understanding and had a very calm chat with my head of year.
The bullying didn’t stop, but the violence didn’t continue thankfully and I left school with good grades, not expected from any teacher I have to say. Went to college where I was embraced and nurtured by fellow students and lecturers which allowed me to be me and I flourished, then I attended Uni in Salford where I still live and have a successful career in theatre and occasionally education and communication training in the NHS.
The Bullies gave me a thick skin and gave me the belief you can achieve anything and they are right, 4 years ago I set myself a challenge to raise awareness and funds for Macmillan Cancer Support for the help they gave the family while my mum was dying. The target was to raise £20,000 by 2016 the 20th anniversary of my mum’s death. I hit this Target 4 years earlier than planned by trekking the Inca Trail, climbing Kilimanjaro, Walking the Deserts of Jordan and the Great Wall of China. This Achievement meant this year I was one of 8,000 people to carry the Olympic Torch for London 2012 and the target was achieved the night before I had this once in a life time privilege.
It is sad as every time I see a few of these bullies that wanted to make my life hell when I visit Derby they seem miserable, hanging around town drunk looking down trodden, well I guess you reap what you Sow, Maybe they just don’t know who they are, thanks to them, I know exactly who I am, so I bow my head and say thanks.
It all started when I was thirteen but cannot think of any reason why apart from being a bit on the cuddly side. Although one of the girls was bigger than me. The worst attack came when I was struck on the head with a bag that had a school bible and a compass in it. I was scratched on my face and and twenty-four hours later I had a series of Epileptic seizures. I was prescibed anti convulsants and for my nerves Valium, This had a knock effect in later life, regards choice of career and driving. I had to change schools to George Spencer where things improved and had many lovely friends with no sign of bullying. It was still difficult for me to go out alone until I met my now husband who was always there to protect me. I think this expereience has made me a more caring and understanding person.
I was 6 years old when I first started wearing glasses, thats when the name calling started…….. children can be so cruel even from an early age. “4 eyes”, “goggle head” I used to hide my glasses telling my mum I had lost them so I didnt have to wear them. But I wasn`t blessed with good looks from the start anyway. Ginger hair, braces on my teeth and I had a stammer (which has stayed with me my entire adult life to this day) So name calling was part of my daily routine, “ginger nut”, “copper nob”, “metal mickey” the list was endless 🙁 So infant, junior and secondary school was the same, different schools different people calling names.
I went to college thinking it was going to be better but no It carried on but by one main girl. She used to throw my pencil case out of the 4th floor window “just for fun” on a regular weekly occurance. It all came to a head one day when she decided to tip a cup off milk over my head in the common room infront of everyone, then ran off to class leaving me to mop myself and the floor up. Now I dont condone violance but on this occasion I was so cross and so angry I ran after her, went straight up to her and slapped her across her face infront off her “group” She never came near me or said anything to me again.
Ive now got 2 gorgeous kids and a loving partner whom I adore. Im a totally different person to the one at school, ive learnt to ignore name calling and comments, im more confident in myself because I have to be for the sake of my children.
I’m 51 now and still suffer long term clinical depression. If reading my story makes one person think twice about bullying then it’s worthwhile. I can’t just blame how my life turned out on the bullies, they were part of the vicious circle of things occuring in my life. I suppose I was different from a lot of the boys in my school, skinny, no interest in sports, not exactly in the top ten for looks and when most lads my age were looking at girls and fast cars I was building electronic things. I also had a step dad who made me wear coats and use school bags that he would have worn, all in all a great target. I was also very quite. Bullying started slowly at first, flicks on my ears, things taken off of me, but grew quickly into footballs kicked in my face and gangs waiting on my route home to take turns with abuse, punches and kicks. I learned to run but somehow they always found me. What was also happening at home was my stepdad turned out to be a paranoid schitzophrenic and I was the target of his disgusting words, his kicking my door down in the middle of the night etc. I shrank deeper into my shell, there was no escape bullied at home with my mum not lifting a hand to defend me, beaten and bullied at school, even on my paper round the gang found me and the ringleader beat me so badly that a householder called an ambulance but I refused treatment.
It was an all boys school and teachers turned a blind eye. I suppose I was 13 or 14 when the plan came into my head. Each day I would steal 2 paracetamols from the big bottles you could get and hide them. When I thought I had enough I sat alone in my room and took them. I couldn’t stand the thought of going out of the door to go to school anymore. For the first time I felt relieve, however the next morning I woke up. I felt awful, ringing in my ears, barely able to walk but my parents either never noticed or never cared and off to school I went. To be honest I can’t remember much of that week. Then the respite came, stepdad was busy working so I was safe for a while and I came home to the house alone at lunch and collapsed. I had a severe infection which left me with glandular fever. I was off school for about 8 to 10 weeks, then a knock at the door, standing there was one of the bullies, he told me I had to come back to school the next day. I had already been off school for a week longer than needed and with a heavy heart the next morning headed off to school. That morning there was no gang of bullies, instead I walked into the school with pats on the back and being told well done, by the very people who had bullied me. It was only later that I found out that I had won a national poetry competition and was to be on the radio and given a price.
Things changed for me at school, sadly it was only 2 months before I left and the damage was done. I had gone from high up in class to bottom. How I got o’ levels I will never know. The abuse from school and home, both physical and mental, left me feeling ugly, confused about my sexuality even, when other kids went through puberty and everything that went with it I was trying to stayalive, bullys at school convincing me that no girl would want me and my stepdad at home saying things so disgusting that when I did find a girl she ended up thinking I was gay as I’d never realise that things she said mean’t she wanted me to kiss her etc and we split up. I spent my life until 50 with no confidence at all, so desperate for somebody to like me that I would do anything which led to me being used by many, abused by some and as both a child and young teen being sexually abused. I was a tv engineer but spent most my life unemployed as in my desperation to please I would take on work for my boss then not know how to ask for help. Bullying still affects me, I can’t use public transport for fear of a stranger talking to me. I have had 2 years of dynamic psychotherapy which left me on a high at the end but gradually I came down to the level where the black cloud of depression still comes but I can at least work my way through it. I avoid social situations nowdays which can make domestic life difficult but my wife usually understands. Bullying from school and home took my life away, but I treat the physical, mental and sexual abuse as my life experiences, very different from most peoples life experiences I admit but if I can use it to help others then what I went through in a strange way may be worthwhile. Bullying needs to be seen as a problem and combated.
Oh where do I begin?? ? Last year I got my hair done in foils blonde to lessen the natural ginger locks but it must have made it more ginger and teenage boys and girls when I walked by the shop said look it’s a ginger nut hahaaa they laughed and said many rude words and then said I would rather die than have ginger hair.
I felt really upset brought lots of childhood memories back as I really suffered bullying at school because of my ginger hair…..
I also did a party for a family and when I am doing parties or events I wear wigs depending on the character I am playing for gigs princess pop star etc and one mum kept telling her daughter to pull it off! I heard her so I said leave it alone it will hurt if you pull it now these are grown woman, eventually she did pull it off and it hurt my head the woman was laughing and said oh my god put it back on that ginger is even worse I laughed it off like it did not affect or bother me but the dust whooshed away somewhere in the bookshelves and my past came flooding back, I felt like I was at school again….. I now had put extra hair grips in its going nowhere!
I see a lot when I do parties some children name call I had one boy say to a girl you cannot do the magic show cause your a ginger minger, I chose the girl and I made point of saying your hair is the most beautiful hair of all and said I wished I had beautiful hair the same colour as yours its magical and she did the biggest hugest smile and said afterwards thank you I love you and gave me a massive hug and I like my magic hair too xxx
Little Chloe is just 4 years old and has already started to feel different as some older children cruelly pointed out to her she has ginger hair and they found this highly amusing…..this is so sad and unnecessary as what they failed to point out is how beautiful Chloe is, her hair is stunning and she has the prettiest eyes and sweetest nature….I worked with Chloe on a recent photo shoot and we raised her confidence and self esteem she enjoyed being pampered and being the star of the shoot and when she saw herself in the newspaper she loved it! This in itself has given Chloe a huge confidence boost and I know her family will be continuing to empower Chloe, I am looking forward to working with Chloe on another photo shoot very soon!
My bullying started second year of high school, I was always slim, but after my granddad died I just felt so low and was able to get my hands on alcohol. Along with the alcohol I started to eat more and more and that was when I put on weight, and that was when the bullying started, I’ve never been physically hurt by these people but sitting in class I would get the odd rubber or pen thrown at me, the name calling, hearing people laughing behind my back, was just as painful.
It got to a point where I just cried myself to sleep and thought a lot about maybe it would be better for me just to die the more I thought about that the worse my self harming got I don’t know where but I found the strength to not let the bullys win by me doing that, I still felt to scared to go to school but I didn’t want to tell my mum about the bullying because I didn’t want mum worrying about it, and the bullying had me feeling so ashamed and embarrassed I don’t think I could of talked about it anyway.
I’ve never been one to talk about my feeling so I think that was what started my self harming, so instead of going till school there was always 2 of us would go till the local park and stay there or just walk the streets which now I knew was dangerous but at the time anything was better than going till school.. The bullying continued right up till I left high school, I lost the weight I put on, went till the same college as my friends from school and had a brilliant time.. I lost my beautiful aunt 2 years ago so I still have depression now, but I’m pleased to say that’s under control and I’m far stronger now than I was in school but I’ve never felt I could talk about what happened so Its only now I’ve decided to talk about it and that’s all thanks to the gorgeous amazing Natalie Harvey…