‘My son has been bullied so badly I’ve had to pull him out of school’
A video shared online shows Alex being assaulted by a boy who pins him down while hitting his head
Alex McGarrie from Hazel Grove has been bullied at Hazel Grove High School in Stockport(Image: Manchester Evening News)
But while those things bring him some pleasure, dad David says his life at high school has been ‘hell since day one’.
He has no real friends there, has never been invited to anything and only hangs out with people his age when he plays darts or goes to the family’s caravan in Wales.
After more than two years of bullying, his parents have finally decided to remove him from Hazel Grove High School in Stockport for good.
They believe his autism has made him a target for bullies, who, although are in a minority at the school, have been allowed to carry on their actions ‘without any real consequences’.
Alex with his parents Sally and David (Image: Manchester Evening News)
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For Alex, numerous incidents have taken place since he first started there. He was only in Year 7 when he reported a girl of the same age holding a blade of glass up to him and threatening to kill him. At the time, his dad says a gang of girls in his year would regularly kick and punch him, spit at him and call him names.
The final straw came in February this year when a video of Alex being assaulted by boys from school – one of whom sat on him and started hitting his head – was circulating online.
The incident had happened in December, but 14-year-old Alex, who’s now in Year 9, hadn’t even told his parents it had taken place.
Footage shows bullying suffered by Alex McGarrie at Hazel Grove High School
“We’d only just given Alex his phone back because he’d been accepting people on Snapchat who weren’t his friends,” said David.
“He’d had a message from someone saying ‘get on the bus and we’re going to kick your head in you bas***d’, so we took his phone away.
he got it back and then his mum saw this video and I thought ‘right enough is enough’.”
David says that due to his autism, Manchester City fan Alex doesn’t react to pain and has no sense of danger.
“We’re a little bit careful over what he does,” he said. “We’d talked about schools and wanted to send him to a mainstream school as I know how important his education is.
Alex often comes home having been assaulted by bullies at the school(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
“He needed to get some independence so we let him get the bus as it’s only 50 paces from our front door so we thought he’d be safe. With his autism he has certain little traits that I can see, but he doesn’t have two heads, he’s like any other kid.”
But they say the bullying began almost immediately he started at the school.
“They stole his tie and threw it out of the bus window,” said David. “They’ve poured water on him, poured glue on him. Every single day without fail he comes back and says something has happened.
“He’s got used to it and doesn’t tell anybody, he doesn’t trust the teachers as nothing happens. We had this thing where a teacher was supposed to check on him every day, that lasted about a week.
“He ended up getting his mum to take him to school and he would get a different bus home that would drop him further away from home so that he could avoid the people doing it.”
David, 68, said that quite often he and Sally, 51, who both have older children from previous relationships, will get a message from school to say Alex has been to the first aid room, but are never given the full details.
Alex loves Manchester City(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“I have asked to see Alex’s full school record,” he said. “We get a message or phone call that he’s banged his head and then we later find out it’s because somebody pulled a chair out from under him or somebody whacked him on the back of the head.”
David reported the incident with the blade of glass to the police. Since then he’s reported a further three incidents – one where he was punched in the face, another where a slap on the back left him with a handprint bruise for a week and then the assault captured in the video.
He says there has been very little response from Greater Manchester Police other than being told they would look into it.
“There is no communication from anyone,” said David. “The school and police don’t tell you anything – they say ‘we’ll investigate’, but we’ve never had any outcomes.”
Initially Alex, who is achieving well at school, was reluctant to leave, telling his parents it ‘might get better’, but since the video came to light, he has agreed with them that he needs to find somewhere new.
A handprint on Alex’s back left a bruise that lasted for a week(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
In a face to face meeting with the principal, David claims the headteacher Martin Stewart told him he couldn’t guarantee Alex’s safety, for reasons including the size of the school and behaviour linked to social deprivation. However the claim is vehemently denied by the school.
David said: “They said they can’t keep him safe so that’s when I said ‘he’s not coming back’.
“It’s a very small minority doing it, but when they’re not stopped they’re going to continue. A warning might be enough for some things, but as soon as someone lays hands on somebody and someone is physically attacked they should send them home without question, call them back in with their parents and make it clear this behaviour is unacceptable.”
David added: “My wife doesn’t want him to go back, she’s in fear that one of these beatings could end up with either serious injury or even worse.”
For now Alex is splitting his time between home and the family caravan, where David says he’s ‘just like any of the other kids and they love him to bits’.
His dad says nobody has been in touch from the school to ask how Alex is or offer him any work.
The teenager is a keen darts player(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
Alex, who plays at Stockport Darts Academy, said: “At school I’d just try to go through each day and I’d think ‘it can’t get any worse’. It feels like it’s just people trying to impress their friends.
“I think what’s the point as they’re not getting anything out of it. If they leave school and do it to a real person they’ll probably get a smack in the face. I’ve tried to fight back but it doesn’t work.
“It’s not just me, I’m not a one-off, this is happening to other people too and something needs to stop it.”
The issue of bullying at Hazel Grove High School has been raised by both David’s MP Lisa Smart and MP Tom Morrison, whose constituency includes the school.
Mr Morrison said: “We’ve all been shocked at the footage that was shared online showing the attack on Alex and I have since been contacted by a number of concerned parents regarding Hazel Grove High School.
“Since then I have been in touch with the school and the local authority and held meetings with both to discuss my concerns and to find a way forward. These conversations have been positive and I am determined to work with both to ensure that all children feel safe in their community. I’ll keep those parents who have contacted me updated at all times.”
His parents have taken photographs of his injuries(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
A spokesperson for Hazel Grove High School said: “While our records and accounts do not mirror all the information that this family has shared, we are sorry to hear of any family who feels that their experiences at our school do not match the expectations and aspirations that we have for each child’s education.
“We work tirelessly to ensure our school is a place of nurture and excellence – and this has been recognised and praised in the external validation we have had. Situations of bullying are rare at our school, but we will always listen and look to enhance everything that we do. We will continue to work closely with our students to embed our values and expectations.
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