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Bullies 'drove daughter to the brink of suicide'
AN 11-year-old girl was bullied to the brink of suicide at a Leeds school, her mother claims.
The mum-of-three, who has not been identified - to protect her daughter, said relentless jibes and intimidation culminated in violence forcing the youngster to quit the school suffering from stress and depression.
She said the pupil at Farnley Park Maths and Computing College had been physically attacked, subjected to verbal abuse, and was even followed on her 25-minute walk home by a group of girls who harassed her all the way and only stopped when her mother intervened.
She said: "That was the day she said, 'I don't think I can go back'."
The 30-year-old said: "I've been on 24-hour suicide watch with her.
"We found pictures she'd drawn, under her bed, of her in a coffin.
"She said she felt like walking out in front of a truck."
The family moved house because the youngster's bullies knew where she lived.
She left Farnley Park and is in the process of joining a different high school.
Her mother said students had targeted her daughter virtually every day, from the beginning of term, mocking her southern accent. An older boy had pulled her hood over her head in the playground and dragged her to the ground.
She said: "In the end children were throwing things at her, abusing her and saying threatening things to her, threatening to hit her."
She said she had rung the school to complain, attended a meeting with the deputy head, and was told a teacher had issued the bullies with a verbal warning but she felt the school should have been much tougher.
She said: "Something more should have happened."
A spokesman for the school said: "All claims of bullying are taken very seriously and each case is treated individually.
"Incidents of this nature are very rare but as soon as we know of any problems we investigate them fully and speak to those believed to be involved to resolve the issue in the most effective way possible.
"We always involve parents and carers in any discussions and include them fully in any decisions we make."
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 11 February 2012
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Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
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