Kingussie school bullies have driven my boy to edge
A worried mother has claimed her young son has been driven to suicidal thoughts by bullying at the strath’s largest school, and that the problem is more rife than many parents with children there may realise.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said she finally removed her 13-year-old son from Kingussie High School last Friday afternoon, following the latest in a series of alleged attacks on the S2 boy.
It has also emerged that the school has become home to an unofficial "fight club" with some older pupils – several alleged to be carrying out the bullying – bringing in boxing gear and fighting in break times on the school premises.
Footage of the pupils scrapping in an area, believed to be near the gymnasium, has been posted on YouTube under the title "Last man standing".
The mother said: "From the minute he went to the high school he has been bullied. They have been ripping his shirt, punching him, strangling him with his tie, putting him over the bannisters and holding him with their ties until he gets marks.
"I’ve reported it time after time and they keep saying we’ll do this and we’ll do that, but this year it has just got worse and worse.
The mother has met in the past with head teacher John Tracey and other staff members to discuss what has been happening, but said the situation reached a head at the end of last week when he was allegedly assaulted on the school bus.
"The bullying is a widespread problem and I think other parents need to be alerted," said the mother.
His family have also had to seek psychological treatment for him, and he has been seeing specialists at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
His mother said: "He had been self-harming and our local doctor said that he was very near the edge. My son has told the specialist with the CALMS team at Raigmore that he wants to go to bed at night, fall asleep and never wake up again.
"He just wants it to stop – he says his life is a misery. He is suicidal."
A Highland Council spokesman said: "We met with the boy’s mother on Monday to discuss her concerns. We take allegations of bullying very seriously and will be investigating these fully."
A Northern Constabulary spokesman said: "We can confirm that we are investigating an incident involving pupils at Kingussie High School.
"A pupil was alleged to have been assaulted on the bus from Kingussie to Aviemore after school last Friday afternoon. Enquiries are still on-going."
