Sam Leeson - Evidence gathering of culture of bullying at school

Look at these comments on the bullying going on at Sam's school. :

I have a daughter at Severnvale who was in the same year as Sam, also my
eldest use to go there and they've both said that bullying is definitely going
on more than the school have acknowledged. When it's time for my youngest
daughter to go to secondary school i will certainly not be sending her to
Severnvale. A.Watkins, Whitminster commented on 13-Jun-2008 13:13 Mr Rowland
clearly does not know a thing about what is happening in his own school. My
sister was also bullied for not only liking a different type of music than the
Chavs who rule the school but for also being clever & enjoying school. On a
number of occasions we spoke to different teachers about this and nothing was
done about it. It ended with her own inner strength and standing up for herself
with the help of understanding friends - nothing to do with teachers. Come on Mr
Rowland stand up to the bullies for people who cannot... S. Nicholls, Gloucester
commented on 13-Jun-2008 13:02

My last comment went off screen. My daughter is
also into emo culture and goes to Severn Vale School. She is constantly bullied
there and always has been. She said it never gets sorted, if you tell a teacher
the bully may get a one hour detention after school and then they are off again.
She knew Sam and said he had been bullied by Severn Vale pupils particularly on
the bus. Our sincere sympathy to all Sam's family and friends it is a
heartbreaking tragedy.

Jane, gloucester commented on 13-Jun-2008 12:03

Quedgeley school plans tribute for tragic Sam.
From the local newspaper.

Other comments:

R.I.P SamAlthough i did not know you, i saw you around school and you
always seemed happy. I throughout a couple of years at Severn Vale was bullied.
I was in that state of mind Sam was, but got through it with friends help. The
problem apparently was not at school but with lads from a different school,
CryptThey apparently threatened him to kill himself, or they would kill him. I
Hope this is investigated down to the full, and mates of sams who know anything
about this please help us.D, Quedgeley Annonymous, Quedgeley, Gloucester
commented on 11-Jun-2008 22:35

My heartfelt sympathies go out to sam's family and friends at this
terrible time.The school really does need to be investigated though as bullying
is commonplace at this school and it is ignored, no matter what some people
might say. My children were both bullied at this school and Mr Rowland turned a
blind eye every time I tried to talk to him about it, he wasnt interested in
anything that would make his school look bad. I eventually removed my children
and placed them elsewhere, my daughter still suffers now from the abuse she
received and is still undergoing counselling to get over it. Gill, Gloucester
commented on 11-Jun-2008 22

I have had 4 children go through their education at Severn Vale with the 2
youngest still at the school and my son was friends with Sam. I would just like
to point out to those of you who are quick to blame the school that the bullying
was NOT taking place on school site, but via the internet and by students from
another local school according to my son and Sam's peers. Students at Severn
Vale (and many of them have commented on here) are extremely happy at Severn
Vale and enjoy fabulous relationships with staff and students alike. It is
totally incorrect to say the school does nothing about bullying. My daughter was
bullied and it was dealt with amazingly well by all the staff particularly Mr
Hunte, Mrs Prescott and Mr Rowland. Their policy is watertight. People really do
need to get their facts straight before being so quick to criticise. Severn Vale
Parent, Gloucester commented on 11-Jun-2008 17:43

I go to Severn Vale school, and to be honest it has shocked me by what they
have said about this. I read a letter today that Sam wasn't a victim of
bullying, and the first thing I thought to myself is "Are you blind?!". Almost
everyone in this school knows he was, they're just trying to protect there
reputation, the whole time I was there thye talked about the high standard they
had, and ofcourse how they promote that they deal with bullys. You don't! You do
flip all to be honest! Sam was a victim of bullying because he dressed
differently, and you failed to see that. Some of The students at your school
have no respect, I know, I see them every day. I hope this has made you think
about how you treat bullying claims from now on. Secondly the Citizen isn't much
better! Your trying to turn the blame onto Emo music, there is nothing wrong
with it, some people just find it easier to releate to. And the quote used by
Mr. Rowland? Stolen from a letter sent out! Rip sam, your in a better place
Jessica, Hardwicke

Did Sam take own life over name calling?

Mental Nurse on Emo and self harm - Daily Mail screws up a vulnerable teen's therapy

Found an interesting blog on the recent anti-emo stuff in the Mail by a mental nurse at http://www.mentalnurse.org.uk. He/she works in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services sommwhere:

I think I’ve give a real-world clinical example, dealing with a self-harming emo kid.

A quick caveat before I do. Teenage self-harming is not an “emo thing”. We see plenty of cutters in CAMHS, and the bulk of them are not emos. Chavs cut themselves too. In fact, some kids cut themselves despite not being part of any fashion clique at all. It’s almost as if self-harm were a mental health issue rather than a fashion trend. Strange, that.

Anyway, let’s bring in our emo. He’s 15 years old, and in honour of My Chemical Romance, we’ll call him Gerard. read more here More on Emo

The most worrying thing about this is that in the blog Dr Cretin takes his ideas on emo from the press reports.

Dr Cretin is…shall we say…a little old-fashioned. Therefore I had a feeling things weren’t go to go well when Gerard turned up to the appointment wearing eyeliner.

Dr Cretin looks at him disapprovingly. “So….this emo cult that you’re involved in. Is that why you started cutting yourself?”

Emo cult? Oh Christ, please don’t tell me Dr Cretin read that bloody Daily Mail article...

By this point Gerard looks like he’s about to cry. Which is unsurprising, since he’s just been told his personal identity is a cult and he should get rid of all his friends.

Once again proof that the Daily Mail screws with peoples lives. The nurse seems to think (with good reason) that the kids interest in bands is in fact a positive thing. "I’ve explored in sessions what Gerard feels he gets out of being an emo. His answers: a sense of identity, a feeling of mutual understanding with others, being accepted and valued in a way that he isn’t by the bullies at school who push his head down the toilet."

And once again we note the kid has been bullied in school as well.

The original comments on the Mail emo article are classic in pointing out its absurdity but they also note:

Funnily enough, we haven’t any seen that many emos come into CAMHS lately (though we’ve got a few goths). We actually see a lot more chavs than any other subculture.

So according to an inexact survey it is chavs, not emos that self harm more at the moment. But as they also point out it might be that social services intervene in "chav" cases more often.

Basically the point is stupid sterotypes about mental conditions cause more harm than anything else. And where do they come from ? Media nonsense is one source.

Skaters and Skate Parks in Danger

We covered this issue before skaters are often lambasted for causing trouble. The reality is skaters want to skate some people won't le them. See our previous posts on skaters.

Floodlight grant gives skaters a brighter future
Spenborough Guardian, UK -Feb 15th

SKATERS in Spen will be able to practise their sport after dark without fear of interference from yobs thanks to a grant for floodlights.

Spen Valley Skate Park on Leeds Road has been granted approval for four floodlights at a maximum cost of £22,800.

Community recreation officer Neil Gamewell appealed to the Spen Valley area committee on Tuesday by showing a film featuring some of the skaters making their case for the floodlights.

The film showed skaters conducting a postal survey, which found that people living close to the skate park were in favour of floodlights being added.

It showed how dangerous skating in the dark could be, and featured skaters complaining about yobs using the site for anti-social behaviour and crime.

They said the skate park gets taken over by gangs of "chavs" after dark, who drink, take drugs and fight.

A report to the area committee said a skip and a fence at the site were set on fire last autumn. It added: "This required the involvement of the police and fire service and has resulted in the need to revisit the issue of lighting and security at the venue.

"Often there are a greater number of non-skaters at the park which can be confrontational with the skaters.

"Young people use the skate park as a venue to meet for fights which at times the skaters can get caught in the middle of."

Floodlights would also improve CCTV coverage at the site, the report said.

Approving the funding, Coun Ann Raistrick (Lib Dem, Liversedge and Gomersal) said: "We have been grappling with what we can do about the kids going down there and creating a bad image."

Skate park fears
Bradford Telegraph Argus, UK - 3 Feb 2008

Young skateboarders are afraid to visit Ilkley skate park because of bullying and drug abuse, it has been claimed.

Town leaders are urging parents to get together and form a group to regularly monitor activities at the East Holmes Field skate park, off New Brook Street, after complaints that many younger skaters dare not visit the park at times.

Year Seven pupils at Ilkley Grammar School have made their fears known to Ilkley parish councillors.

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Parish Council chairman, Councillor Heathcliffe Bowen, said parents should know about the problems. The council cannot organise its own patrols of the skate park, but he suggested parents could organise a formal system to monitor the park themselves.

The skate park opened in 2003 after four years of campaigning and planning, and an intensive £52,000 fundraising driver by community group PipeDream. The group, which disbanded after the park was opened, wanted to provide much-needed facilities for young people in the town.

Inspector Darren Minton, of Keighley Police, said bullying and drug abuse had not been reported to officers, to his knowledge, but said police do visit the skate park as part of their routine patrols around Ilkley.

Man Jailed For Two Years Over Chav Stabbing (from The Northern Echo)

Very interesting case in the NE. Here divisions between chav/emos are used as a defence in court over a stabbing incident. Unusually here it is the emo in trouble but it seems he had a history and much provocation at least according to him. Some similarities to the Dele Little case I think. It looks like it started out with an abusive behaviour incident and then escalated. Of course this being a court case it is difficult to know what exactly happened.

The key point is that once again subcultural divisions ended up with violence.

Man Jailed For Two Years Over Chav Stabbing (from The Northern Echo)

Dec 11th

A MAN has today been jailed for two years for knifing a teenager at the Stockton Riverside Festival.

The judge told Michael Dixon, 22, that he had marred the festival which was a joyous event and something of which the people of Stockton could be proud.

Fear spread along the town's Finkle Street when Dixon was seen covered in blood and waving a knife, said prosecutor Martina Connolly. Ambulance staff went to the aid of Dixon's victim Michael Hancock, 19, whom he stabbed twice in the back on August 4 with a Swiss Army knife, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Michael Hancock had gone to the aid of his friend James Parker who was in an altercation with Dixon. Mr Hancock was walking away when he felt a hard punch to his back, and when he turned around he saw Dixon screaming abuse at him.

The pair rolled over on the ground punching and kicking but it ended when Mr Hancock pushed Dixon away.

Mr Hancock's friends then noticed that his back was bleeding heavily. He was treated in hospital and discharged within hours.

When Dixon saw the police he was still waving the knife and he shouted at them "Come on", added Miss Connolly. During his arrest he threw the knife over a wall but it was recovered later.

Dixon was drunk, and when he was interviewed the next day he said that it had been an argument between chavs and emos - fans of emotional, heavy metal music who wear tight clothing.

Dixon claimed that he had the knife to open bottles, and he said he regretted his actions.

Miss Connolly said that Dixon had previous convictions for possessing a machete and a knife, and for violence.

Robin Denny, defending, said that a prison sentence was inevitable. He said that Dixon was an emo who had been picked on by Mr Hancock, a chav with convictions for drunk and disorderly behaviour, affray and assault on police.

He added: "The defendant initially intended to frighten the victim. He was obviously initially attacked by someone who is particularly prone to attacking people for no good reason late at night."

The Recorder of Middlesbrough Judge Peter Fox QC told Dixon: "Your drunkenness affords you not the slightest excuse.

"You have got a very bad record for violence, but in particular this is the fourth time in your young life that you have been convicted of having an offensive weapon.

"The suggestion that you had bought that Swiss Army knife to open bottles is all very well. There are such things as bottle openers, you don't stab people in the back with a bottle opener."

The judge added: "The Riverside Festival is something that the people of Stockton can be proud of. It's a happy, joyous event, almost everybody behaves themselves and has a good time. You're the exception, your behaviour was particularly bad."

Dixon of Mapleton Road, Hartlepool, was jailed for two years after he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon, unlawful wounding and affray.

Riverside Festival knife attacker jailed - Gazette Live

Dec 11 2007 Evening Gazette

Mr Hancock had gone to the aid of his friend James Parker who had been in an altercation with Dixon, 22.

Mr Hancock was walking away when he felt a hard punch to his back. When he turned round he saw Dixon screaming abuse at him.

The pair rolled on the ground punching and kicking but it ended when Mr Hancock pushed Dixon away.

Mr Hancock’s friends then noticed that his back was bleeding heavily, leaving him needing hospital treatment.

When Dixon was interviewed the next day he said it had been an argument between chavs and emos - fans of emotional, heavy metal music who wore tight clothing.

Dixon claimed that he had the knife to open bottles, and he said he regretted his actions.

He pleaded guilty on the basis he was with his girlfriend when he was attacked by Mr Hancock and another.

Meanwhile...

Rome and Juliet - a review

Weston & Somerset Mercury, UK - 14 Dec 2007

THE audience at The Kings of Wessex School escaped the wild December weather last Thursday and Friday evening (6 and 7/12/07) to journey to Verona for the Year 9 Thespians' production of Shakespeare's first romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet.

This modern interpretation used minimal props. The bold black and white Ying Yang motif on stage was a vivid reminder of the playoff between opposites. The two sworn rival families: the Capulets (Juliet) and Montagues (Romeo) were brought to life via the students' portrayal of today's "Chavs" and "Emos". The warring factions brutally manifested in the realistic fight scenes were all too reminiscent of the divisions in today's society and across the globe. Following the deaths of Romeo's friend Mercutio (Max Hopestone Bell) by Tybalt (Russ Eccleston), swiftly followed by his killing at the hand of Romeo, a plague is cursed upon both houses, setting the scene for more tragedy.

And yet love blossoms between Romeo and Juliet who in the famous balcony scene arrange a secret marriage with the help of Friar Lawrence (Adam Clegg) and the Nurses (Aggie Morris/John Male). Their first kiss is sealed with suitably, striking strobe lighting.

As a technical devise, music is used well. The pulsating opening beat builds up to the cacophony in the street scene foretelling more drama. Whilst the Chavs' dance sequences were slinky, posing to Justin Timberlake's Love Stoned, the Emos opt for the aggressive, fight-inspiring Hard Fi's Suburban Knights.

Costumes were jeans and coloured t-shirts, with Romeo and Juliet in red t-shirts - very much the roses of the show and just as sweet. 13-year old Ben Champion plays love-struck Romeo, akin to a dreamy troubadour, wandering about stage as "fortune's fool". With touching tenderness, "never was such beauty" 14-year old Sophie Caunt plays Juliet at the same age.

"Thou canst not speak if thou canst not feel". Indeed, Kings' 13 and 14-year old cast of strong performers artfully mastered the Bard's language, demonstrating understanding, with plenty of dramatic anger and desperation in the face of doomed love.

This story of woe was a "heavy day" that would not be easily forgotten. As Massive Attack played out the end with "Teardrop", the audience reflected on the play's contemporary themes - arranged marriages, fighting on the streets, feuding between inner city estates... Ultimately, the love potion, like Shakespeare's favourite theme of misadventure, is taken to its most fatal conclusion.

Sikh, Goth and Chav

BBC - Devon - Community Life - Sikh-ing his Britishness:

Ineresing project here and poem.

Goth & Chav

How long before
they see me as a Sikh
they realise I'm not unique
they treat me like a human
someone cries "Is this true man"
they see that inside we're tougher
we don't have to suffer
they realise?
they start to sympathise
they realise the power to touch
they realise it means so much
my love turns to hate
you become my mate
we get noticed
we stop getting dissed
I've got nothing to fear
They get me out of here

Chav versus Emo division dramatised

Interesting...

The Weston Mercury - Modern twist on Shakespeare classic
20 November 2007

TWO star-crossed lovers in sovereign rings and studded belts will meet on stage in Cheddar next month.

Kings of Wessex School has chosen to give the Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet a modern twist depicting the Capulets and Montagues as 'chavs' and 'emos'.

Actors from year nine are preparing to get loved up for the production, which takes place on December 6 and 7.

The cast of more than thirty students, including Ben Champion as Romeo and Sophie Caunt as Juliet, will take to the stage four hundred years after the original play was written.

This modern version includes songs from Hard-Fi, Massive Attack and Justin Timberlake and draws loosely on school life.

Tickets, priced £3 for adults and £2 for students and concessions, are available at the school office.

In fact this idea has been used before:

Goths, chavs and Hell's Kitchen for Shakespeare - Times Online

June 27, 2005

IT’S Shakespeare but the Bard might not recognise it. A Winter’s Tale is now a battle between chavs and goths while the BBC has signed Twiggy to appear in a modern Taming of the Shrew. On Sunday, 10,000 children from 400 schools will take part in an event designed to energise Shakespeare’s works for the MTV generation. After a series of BBC sponsored workshops, they will perform 30-minute abridged versions of his plays at theatres across Britain to create a record-breaking One Night of Shakespeare...

Another school is using Twelfth Night to explore the issues of immigration and asylum, while the tragic jealousies of A Winter’s Tale are relocated to the teenage tribes of chavs and goths.

Why is this significant well it shows in two separate schools these rivalries seem worthy enough to dramatise.

Death in Totton - when namecalling ended in a stabbing

In Hampshire the ending of a recent trial for murder on the 24^th of October 2007 has led to the police patrolling the streets to prevent more violence. This trial was sparked by the very real divisions and problems we are covering here.

Aaron Roche 21, was acquitted of the charge of murder for fatally stabbing Dele Little, 15, of Powell Crescent, Totton, in a fight at West Totton Centre in February this year. The fight between the two was sparked by Little’s earlier fight with Roche’s girlfriend Kayleigh Shinn. The fight that developed was an unequal affair in that Little was larger, stronger and more skilled than his opponent despite being younger. According to his version of events when he was badly battered and on the floor Roche decided to draw a butterfly knife he was carrying, at this stage his hoodie was pulled up and he could not see properly. His opponent was then stabbed in the scuffle and later died . (Roche described the fight in court one of Little's mates gave his version here Court told how fight broke out).

What is generally not highlighted in the coverage was the flashpoint for the situation:

Roche, then 20, had run to the West Totton Centre after hearing that his girlfriend Kayleigh Shinn had been hurt and repeatedly pushed to the floor by youths.Miss Shinn - known as "La" to her friends - had gone to Tesco Express with her 17-year-old friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to buy cigarettes just before 9pm on Saturday, February 3 this year. The pair had spent the afternoon drinking WKD, Malibu and Jack Daniels in The Ship pub in Rumbridge Street, Totton, before making the short journey to the store from a nearby house.

Winchester Crown Court heard how when the girls left the shop they were verbally abused by a gang of up to 15 youths - mainly boys - who had congregated in a nearby circular area known locally as the "bull ring". Jurors heard how 6ft Dele was a "ringleader" in the group who were shouting and swearing and calling both girls "goths" before Miss Shinn was thrown "like a frisbee in the air" on to the ground.

Jurors heard how the 17-year-old girl sent text messages saying "help" and "La's been hurt" and minutes later Roche happened to call her mobile and she told him what was happening. report

Here are more details as described by Shinn’s Teenage friend in court:

The girl told the court yesterday she had gone to the area with 18-year-old Kayleigh Shinn, who she had spent the afternoon drinking with at The Ship pub in Rumbridge Street, Totton, to buy cigarettes from Tesco Express. As they walked out of the store the girl told Winchester Crown Court how they were verbally abused, sworn at and called "goths".

Miss Shinn was then knocked to the ground before she got herself up, clutching a stick which she was waving at the boys. The girl said she watched as Miss Shinn was "chucked on the floor again with a lot more force" by Dele Little adding "she looked like a frisbee going through the air".

Another witness stated that:

The girl had also been at the centre with friends when the trouble flared between Dele and Kayleigh Shinn. Jurors heard how the girl, who was 14 at the time, remembered Miss Shinn telling Dele "my boyfriend's not going to be happy with you" and shouting "my boyfriend will come down and kill him" but she didn't take what she was saying seriously. Asked about the argument, she said Dele and his friends had been calling Miss Shinn and her 17-year-old friend "emo's" - a way of describing how someone dresses - before the stabbing on the night of Saturday, February 3. "I'm struggling to breathe," the last words of stabbed Dele

Here is another report from from another witness from the Echo:

Teenager in tears as she recalls Dele's dying moments

The girl said she had been with her friends in "the bullring" by the West Totton Centre on the night of Saturday, February 3 when Dele and his mates got into an argument with two girls. She told the court "It was verbal for quite a while but then it got a bit physical" adding that the argument continued for about three minutes.

She said: "The girl (Kayleigh Shinn) started to get really angry and she walked off to get a plank of wood. She was warning him not to say anything else or touch her because she would hit him with it and he said don't me silly. You're not going to do that.' She went to sling the plank of wood to hit Dele and Dele reached out and slung the wood and she hit the floor."

Newspaper reports published at the time of the death of Dele Little in Febuary Teen killed for being a 'Chav' | Metro.co.uk draw a picture, based on talking to Dele’s friends :

Dele and his friends were outside a shopping centre in Totton, Southampton, when the attack happened on Saturday. A friend, who asked not be named, said: 'A girl walked past, shouting and calling us chavs. She tried to hit Dele with a block of wood. Dele pushed her.' The 15-year-old added: 'She came back and started hitting him again. She phoned her boyfriend on her mobile. He turned up and started a fight. Dele was stabbed. There was blood everywhere.'

Roche, an ex-public schoolboy, drew on a wide variety of character witnesses in the trial testifying to his good character, which helped balance out the fact he had a large collection of knives at home and that several witnesses testified that he had earlier before the fight threatened to stab Little. In contrast Little’s background involved being in trouble before with the police for fighting, assault, bullying and he was excluded from school. Following Roche's acquittal there were: High visibility police patrols in Totton following murder verdict. Websites were censored due to various threats of vengeance. The trial has also helped spark a campaign to end knife carrying . Obviously an end to use of weapons would make Britain a safer place and is an excellent plan.

Yet it seems to me from what happened in Totton another thing is equally clear - that the flashpoint of the original argument was due to the perceived differences between Little’s group and Roche’s girlfriend and her friend and the verbal abuse and aggression that followed. If these minor differences in clothes had been ignored, and both sides had tolerated and respected each other, no fight would have occurred in first place and Dele Little would still be alive and safe with his friends and family. The same is also true of Sophie Lancaster.

Whether it is "chavs" abusing "goths" or vica versa it is equally wrong and as these events prove it can lead to tragedy. In a free country we must respect peoples right to live their own lives they way they choose. After all that is the freedom for which so many in British history have fought and died for. How many more people must die before this can be learned? Rest in Peace Dele Little I hope that no-one else must die before this pointless hatred ends.

More details here search the Echo archives:
Dele Little Trial 1 The Dele Little Trial 2
Dele Little - Online Memorial