Stories

You may think that you are the only one experiencing bullying, however there are lots of people that have and are experiencing bullying all the time.

Many Celebrities were bullied for a variety of reasons when they were young, these include Ben Stiller (Actor/Comedian), Sara Cox (Radio 1 DJ), Kate Winslet (Actress), Gareth Gates (Singer), Christina Aguilera (Singer), Patsy Palmer (Actress), Michelle Pfeiffer (Actress), Tom Cruise (Actor), Orlando Bloom (Actor) and Mel Gibson (Actor). The success they have achieved has proved that they could beat the bullies and go on to lead successful lives. Knowing that other people, particularly famous people, have been through similar experiences can help you to deal with your own situation and give you ideas about how you can tackle bullying for yourself.


"I was bullied throughout most of my time at high school initally by a so called friend. It started with her turning my friends against me so I was always on my own (I felt that they were too scared to stand up to her incase she turned on them). Slowly it got worse, she would encourage other kids on our school bus to call me names, talk loudly about me, and even throw things at me.

If I cried it just made them all laugh and do it even more. I would often come home in tears and would try to tell my mum I was ill so I wouldn't have to go into school the next day.

It went unnoticed by teachers as the abuse only really happened on the bus on the way home from school. Mostly it was name calling and kids taking the mickey for no real reason, but sometimes they would empty my bag on the floor, throw tiny bits of paper at me so it stuck in my hair, and once one of the boys tipped his bottle of ribena over my head.

My parents were always supportive when I came home in tears but they don't like confrontation so never went to the school or the girls parents about it. It was my older sister who eventually reported it to my form teacher at shool. My teacher asked me to see her one lunchtime and asked me to tell her what was happening to me, but when I told her who was behind it all she didn't really
seem to believe me.

The girl abusing me was always nice and polite to the teachers and to them she seemed like a model pupil. After that the teacher called her in as well and sat down with us both, but didn't punish the girl at all. She just seemed to put it down to friends falling out and me over reacting, and then just sent us on our way. The bullying carried on and for a week or so after that discusion with the teacher it actually seemed worse. I never bothered to tell any other teachers as I felt they would just be the same as my form teacher.

I never got completely away from the bullying until I left school at 16. Even though I did eventually make new friends it never really went away. She had a habit of making nasty comments when I came in a room and still had the ability to take away all my confidence.

I am now 23 and a lot more confident, but I still feel intimidated by people who are loud and I find it hard to trust people properly.

I just wanted to share my experience with you as it may help with other kids getting the right kind of support. I think that it would be a good thing to have someone visit schools at least once a week to give kids who are being bullied the chance to talk to someone other than a parent or teacher, as they will not know the bullies and can probably get to the truth quicker and stop the bullying.

Bullying effects different people in different ways, but no-one should have to suffer it at all, and especially not in silence".

(Holly)


"Every day it was the same. I would turn round a corner and there they were waiting for me. I absolutely hated going to school, the people who bullied me had bullied me all throughout my life at school, shouting out nasty names and spreading rumours about me, which everyone seemed to believe. At first I didn't tell anyone as I was scared about what would happen, but eventually it got too much and I told my parents. We then went to the school and spoke to the head of my year, it took a while for the bullying to die down but eventually it did and I could get on with my schoolwork. The bullying has affected me quite badly and left me with very little confidence in myself. I am however slowly building this confidence back, but I know that if I hadn't told someone about what was happening I would be in a much worse situation".

(Victim, 20)


"At secondary school I was hoping to make friends and was hoping that the bullying I had experienced in primary school would all be over. But I was wrong, it was worse, there was no-one I could turn to and all my old friends had got new friends and turned against me. The names got worse and so did the threats. In year 8 things got worse, as the older pupils started on me, throwing food in my hair, throwing bangers at me. Then someone punched me, I had paper thrown at me and old chewing gum thrown in my hair. Some people once threw lighted paper into my hair, which really scared me. Every time something like this happened I told my teacher and my parents. My head of year tried to stop the bullying, she gave the bullies detentions, suspended them from school, spoke to their parents and in my last year one of the bullies was expelled. Unfortunately the bullying carried on, as I still had to deal with the friends of the person who had been expelled. If there are people that are being bullied the best thing you can do to deal with it is by talking to people and realising that you are not alone. Even try taking up a sport or self-defence, as you are then thinking about something else, taking your mind off the bullying and taking out your aggression. Doing this helped me through bullying".

(Victim, 17)


"When I was at school I was targeted by bullies. It was mostly cruel name-calling and snide comments, though twice I was spat at - once right in my face. On one occasion I was actually punched in the stomach and another time I got hit in the face. It left me feeling angry and also affected my levels of self-confidence. I couldn't understand what was wrong with me, or why I was so different and being marked out like this. As a result I wouldn't speak out during class discussion work, and just tried to make myself as invisible as I could. In the end I did tell people about it, and at first it didn't seem to make any difference - but gradually as I kept telling people what was going on, the situation improved and finally it stopped altogether. That was over ten years ago, and whilst I still remember what it was like to suffer at the hands of bullies, I have now become more self-confident and prepared to speak out against this kind of behaviour when I see it".

(Stuart, Age 28)


"For those who are bullied and their friends, the message is simple - tell someone, don't suffer in silence. It is important that teachers and heads take accusations of bullying from pupils and parents seriously. The message needs to be made loud and clear to the bullies: bullying is unacceptable, it will not earn you respect. In most cases, these problems can be resolved sensibly and practically within the school. Bullying should not be accepted as a normal part of school life and it must be challenged. Every pupil has the right to expect to be able to learn in a safe environment, and not to be bullied just because they are seen to be a little different".

(David Blunkett, former Education Minister)


If I were a world leader my first act would be "to introduce a drug that everyone who was a bully had to take to stop them bullying other people. I'd put such a drug in the water now".

(Jo Brand, Comedian) (extract from Radio Times 11-17 December '99)


"It is essential for schools to recognise that bullying is a problem. I feel it is particularly important for victims not to be scared of bullies and not be afraid to report them to a teacher".

(David Seaman, ex England Goalkeeper)


"I can totally relate to the horror of being bullied because I suffered at school. It was horrible, nasty. I used to get battered senseless. I'd come home bleeding and covered in bruises, but I refused to give in. Success is the best
form of revenge".

(Perry Fenwick, Billy in Eastenders) (extract from Daily Mirror 17 March '02)