New drive against school bullying

How Paralympian beat the bullies

A poem by a primary school youngster and a fake news bulletin by older pupils are being used to help youngsters in Wales tackle bullying.

They were the winners in competitions run by the assembly government for Anti-Bullying Week.

The aim is to help both bullied and bullying pupils think about the consequences.

The campaign is run by a coalition of 60 organisations, including the NSPCC, Barnardo's and ChildLine.

Primary school children were invited to write a short poem about bullying, with the winning entry earning a �1,000 prize for their school.

Secondary school pupils had the task of writing a script for a spoof news bulletin on the issue.

Connah Williams, 10, from Williamstown Primary School in Tonypandy was the winner of the poetry competition with his poem Someone to Care.

SOMEONE TO CARE I can't leave, so mustn't complain, but someone's emerged who enjoys my pain. An intense groove beats in my head, torment and misery fill my heart with dread. I'm bullied and feel like a steam train. Heating up like a furnace, burnt and in pain. Like dark clouds about to rain, like water gurgling down the drain. Your words are mean, you point, you stare. Can I find someone to care? Connah Williams, 10, Williamstown Primary School, Tonypandy

The winners of the English language spoof news bulletin were James Carver and Taylor Martin, both 13, from Dyffryn School in Margam, Port Talbot.

Their news item, Lack of Bullying Snaps Underpants Company, took a humorous look at measures used to tackle bullying.

The winners of the Welsh language spoof news bulletin were year nine pupils Lowri Jones, Bethan Lasky, Nia Morgan and Bethan Connell from Ysgol Gyfun Y Strade in Llanelli.

They put together an ironic story about how bullying can become a vicious cycle.

Education Minister Jane Hutt starts the week by attending an anti-bullying showcase at County Hall, Cwmbran, Torfaen, with Children's Commissioner for Wales Keith Towler.

The event includes a short anti-bullying documentary, a presentation by the Torfaen young people's forum, and a digital story by pupils from Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw, at Pontypool, Torfaen.

Ms Hutt said: "Anti-Bullying Week is a fantastic opportunity to highlight that bullying is still a real issue in some children and young people's lives.

"We hope that the competitions helped engage schools, pupils, teachers and parents to work together to combat bullying in their school."

On Friday, 11-times Paralympic gold medal winning swimmer David Roberts will present the cheque to the winners of the anti-bullying poetry competition winner.

He will hear a reading of the winning poem, and talk to pupils about his experiences of being bullied because of his disability and how he overcame them.

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