Mum’s heartbreaking plea after son ‘whipped and pelted’ by school bullies

A mother in Gwynedd has called on schools to do more to tackle bullying after a video of her son being bullied was shared on social media.

The video appeared to show Amy Thatcher-Jones’s son, Aaron, being cornered by a group of boys in a school corridor while other pupils whip and throw basketballs at him. The incident took place at Aaron’s school, Ysgol Brynrefail in Llanrug in March.

She said: "Aaron came in saying there had been an incident at school…. and that somebody had hurt him and he was worried it had been recorded and shared on social media, on Snapchat."

Amy added: "He was scared because the boys were much older than him, there were far more of them. He was scared what would happen, would it get worse?"

The video shows Aaron cornered by a group of boys in a school corridor before being whipped and pelted with balls.

At one point, one of the pupils can be heard laughing and shouting (in Welsh): "The boy’s crying."

Frustrated by what she perceived as a slow response from the school, Amy shared the video online and with a local newspaper, in order to raise awareness. She believes the school was more concerned about protecting its image than dealing with the bullying her son had experienced.

After receiving a lot of attention and comments, Amy says she was invited to the school for a meeting.

"I went there on the Friday with the two deputy heads and headmistress. I walked in, the deputy said, "very disappointing that you gave this to the Daily Post, disappointing you posted it on facebook." I said, it’s very disappointing this happened in the first place. I saw it as a lot of victim blaming. The school were more worried about how they looked rather than worrying about the welfare of the children." 

Despite the school taking disciplinary measures against some of the boys, Amy didn’t feel enough was done to protect Aaron and the other children who are at risk of being bullied.

Speaking to ITV Wales’s Welsh language current affairs programme y Byd ar Bedwar, she said: “It’s shocking and it’s disappointing. The number of other parents who have told me they worry and who have thanked me for sharing the video just highlights the problem.” 

A report by the School Health Research Network, published last year, found that 33% of pupils in Wales between years 7-11 had experienced bullying in the months leading up to their research. It also found that eight per cent experienced bullying at least once a week.

Amy Thatcher-Jones has called on schools across Wales to do more to tackle a problem which she says is still far too prevalent in our education system.

"If they can’t help them with things like this, what hope do they have growing up? Children have lost their lives in other schools because of bullying. This is serious."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Ysgol Brynrefail said: “The happiness and welfare of every pupil is at the heart of our school ethos and we take every report of bullying, harrassment and violence seriously.”

The statement added: "In this specific incident, our Promoting Good Behaviour and Anti-Bullying policies were followed fully, in accordance with the guidance and personal advice received by external organisations.

"We are confident that we have responded in a way which is reasonable and appropriate for this incident and an independent investigation has reached the same conclusion.”

You can watch the full Y Byd ar Bedwar programme on S4C at 8.00pm, 18 July. English subtitles available.