People who have been bullied at school
Sam's story
"Break time was the worst. This group of girls used to hang around by the seats under the trees. It was out of sight of the school windows and that's why they went there. At first, they were all right and I was new, so was grateful that they let me be part of their group.
Then they wanted me to chip in and buy cigarettes. I said I didn't smoke and that's when it started. They got all the other girls in the class to stop talking to me. They just completely blanked me.
Things got worse. I got really down about the situation and on my way home one afternoon, I phoned ChildLine.
It was so good to talk to someone. I thought if I told anyone - teachers or parents - the bullies would just get back at me. Other people had made things worse for themselves when their parents had complained to the school.
The counsellor helped me think through some really good stuff. She asked me about people at school I could talk to. I thought of one of the sixth-formers who was really nice to us when we started. I told her about it and said I didn't want a big fuss.
She understood and she started coming around the school at break time to send the girls off. She also went to the Head of Year and talked to her without naming anyone."
Supplied by ChildLine
Sarah's story
"My best friend Gemma was always really kind to me, until this other girl, Eloise, came along. They ganged up on me, spread nasty rumours, tried to trip me up and insulted me. They even made a little book of Ten Things We Hate About Sarah, which included that I was fat, stupid, ugly, a know-it-all and a show-off.
I was so depressed and upset, I didn't want to go to school anymore and I cried whenever I was alone, Then I talked to my other friend and she talked to Gemma and she stopped, but it was still really upsetting. If anyone else is going through something like this, my advice would be to just talk to your other friends and try and ignore it."
