Pupils pioneer weapons in war on bullies

11:23am Wednesday 26th March 2008

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ANTI-bullying tactics adopted by pupils at some of North Yorkshire's schools are proving so effective that they are being rolled out across Ryedale and the rest of the county.

Pupils at Risedale Sports and Community College, Catterick Garrison, have attracted national awards and media attention for the anti-bullying surgeries they hold in school every day.

Risedale invited experts from the Samaritans as well as Anti-Bullying Online to talk to students about dealing with bullying in school. Subsequently, two students from each year group made up an anti-bullying council which has held drop-in surgeries every day for the last year for students and parents to talk confidentially about any bullying concerns.

It has also set up anti-bullying boxes around school which are emptied daily. The council then meets every week to discuss issues that arise.

Kerry Norman, a Year 9 Risedale pupil who is a member of the council, said the drop-in surgeries had made a lot of difference to reducing levels of bullying.

She said: "We can sort out a lot of things straightaway. Students find it easier to talk to other students and I think it has helped everybody to feel safer."

Risedale is to be featured on CBBC's Newsround and last year received a Diana Award as well as an honorary award with the Anti-Bullying Alliance. Pupils from the anti-bullying council often give presentations about their work at youth events and also to feeder primary schools.

But Risedale is not alone in taking such an initiative. Behaviour and attendance leaders from across North Yorkshire County Council's secondary schools, including Ryedale, have met recently to learn about training available to set up peer mentoring schemes to tackle bullying.

Brompton Community Primary School in Northallerton was involved in the pilot project along with Whitby Community College and Harrogate Grammar School.