Alarming violence at school

February 2008

A ‘FREE FOR ALL’ is how a District Court judge this week described a Wicklow school after hearing of alarming levels of bullying, intimidation, and violence.

A special sitting of Wicklow District Court heard that an 18-year-old Sixth Year student was set upon by three younger students in an unsupervised study hall, as approximately one hundred other students looked on.

The victim was left with cuts, bruises, and a fractured thumb, which meant he had to type rather than write his answers in a mock Leaving Certificate examination.

The depressing scene caused Judge William Hammill to describe life at the school as ‘a free-for-all.’ He added that nothing appeared to have been done by the school to combat allegations of bullying.

‘Boys must be leaving school thinking that hear nothing, see nothing, report nothing and take revenge when you have a chance was the way the world works,’ he remarked.

The 16-year-old defendant alleged in court that the attack was revenge for constant bullying at the hands of the victim, who he claimed had been abusing younger boys for months.

The defendant was bound to the peace for 12 months.