Police and education bosses in Lancashire have declined to comment when asked about an apparent spate of violence involving schoolchildren, with many of them filmed on social media and shared widely much to the distress of victims.
Among the incidents which sparked anger among the wider public as well as those affected, a young girl was attacked while on bus on the way Valley Leadership Academy in Bacup earlier this month. Footage of the incident shows another child hurling abuse before repeatedly hitting her over the head. “We have high expectations of every pupil and do not tolerate poor behaviour in our school. Whilst this incident took place on a public bus service, we expect our pupils to behave appropriately in and out of school and the overwhelming majority of our pupils demonstrate exemplary character at all times.“
And earlier this year, two incidents in Chorley sparked similar outrage as young children were subjected to humiliation by groups of school kids. On April 16, a boy at a park in Buttermere was taunted and pushed to the ground in another incident captured on camera. On the same day in the same area, a disgusting act of bullying saw a small boy forced to lick the shoes of a gang who filmed themselves goading and pressuring him. The boy was at a skate park when he was approached and cornered by the group of seven, thought to be aged 12 to 15.