Half of pupils fear back to school bullies

ALMOST half of children have worried about returning to class after the holidays because of bullying, a poll reveals.

The survey also suggests how youngsters feel being picked on has affected their grades, attendance and whether they put their hand up in class.

The survey, which was published by children’s charity the Diana Award and quizzed 1,003 secondary-age pupils, found that 60 per cent said they have been bullied at school.

Some 46 per cent said they have worried about going back to school after a holiday or half term because of bullying. And 40 per cent of those said they were picked on because of their academic ability.

Meanwhile 39 per cent of victims said it affected their school grades, and 38 per cent said it lowered their attendance. Just over half said bullying made them less likely to put their hand up in class.

The Diana Award has launched a #Back2School campaign to highlight the issue.

Its deputy chief executive Alex Holmes said: ‘Young people spend 11,000 hours of their lives in full education. School should be safe and free from bullying. We’re urging everyone to get behind our campaign by helping us to train anti-bullying ambassadors in every school.’

And Nick Gibb, minister for schools standards, said: ‘Improving pupil behaviour has been a key part of our education reforms. Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy in place to prevent all forms of bullying and from next year they will have new guidance on how to teach relationships education to their pupils, which includes teaching pupils about respect, tolerance and addresses issues such as online safety.’