Racism: Family move to England after daughter made to feel 'hated' at school

A mother and father in North Wales are moving their family to England as a result of alleged racism that their daughter has experienced at school.

The mother has two children, a daughter aged 13, and a son, aged seven. Both of whom are from a previous marriage and of Jamaican heritage.

The family arrived in Gwynedd with high hopes of settling down, running their business and becoming accepted - a cherished vision of being happy in such a beautiful part of Wales.

Their children learned Welsh to help them settle in and make friends, but their dreams were cruelly shattered when it emerged that their teenage daughter was being racially abused by pupils from her school, simply because she was different.

Her daily bus journey to and from home became a living nightmare.

Her mother said: "It started when she was getting the bus to school and she found that her bus journey home was where it was happening with a group of year nine boys. And they were taunting, teasing, directing it at my daughter who was sat on the bus just coming home and they'd play extreme rap music with racist words.

"I never thought I would need to educate my daughter at the age of 12 on the historical background of slavery.

"Up until a few years ago she's been watching kids TV and now I was educating my daughter about racism."

Wales was 'supposed to welcome us'

There were other instances in school, leading to the daughter becoming withdrawn and very different from the happy girl the family were used to.

"This was supposed to be a place that was supposed to welcome us, include us and integrate us into the culture that is Welsh."

The mother continued: "You know, my children in less than two years are fluent in Welsh. So why have they made her feel like not just an outsider, but hated?"

Two of the boys involved were suspended for two and a half days. Their daughter is no longer at the school. The family are now moving out of Wales directly as a result of their experience.

"Yes, it's a minority," the mother said.

"There's been a lot of good people. Neighbours who've come over can't believe that we're leaving because of this. But I wouldn't allow my daughter to be attacked that way.

"I won't allow it to be a case where she's been physically hurt or even killed. It won't be a campaign in memory of my daughter. It's now a campaign to get tighter sanctions in school to protect my daughter so she can have a better life.

ITV Cymru Wales asked the council for its comments on what had happened. The education authority say they and their schools take allegations of racism, bullying and harassment seriously, and they're working hard to ensure that their schools are safe, inclusive and fair spaces.

They also said any report of racism was a cause of great concern and they would urge pupils and parents to contact their school if they experienced this sort of behaviour.

The council had clear policies and arrangements to respond to any concerns they received and learners and families were aware that racism is a hate crime and could lead to police prosecution.

Wales' natural beauty 'ruined by toxic breath of racists'

Meanwhile, North Wales police said that it was in contact with the family. They encourage schools to report incidents of racist behaviour or language as this would not be tolerated.

The mother hopes other families do not have to go through what they've experienced.

"I don't want another family to suffer. There are more and more families coming in to want to live a better life, to be around nature. And this natural beauty that we have around us is completely ruined by the toxic breath of racists that I've experienced that my daughter's experienced."