A mum says that her autistic son was attacked for 30 minutes by a group of fellow pupils on the premises of a Liverpool school.
Becci King, from Croxteth, said that her 15-year-old son, who is in Year 11 at The De La Salle Academy, was assaulted by a group of more than 10 boys in the school building on Tuesday (April 26). The assault left the boy, who the ECHO will not name, with heavy bruising and injuries to his face.
A spokesperson for De La Salle confirmed that a pupil was assaulted by other boys at the school on Tuesday and it is investigating the incident, as well as cooperating with police.
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Becci told the ECHO that her son, who is set to finish his GCSEs this summer, will not return to the school and she is looking for a way for him to complete his exams in a different setting. She also plans to move away from Croxteth so that her son can avoid the group that attacked him.
Becci said: "My son went to school on Tuesday morning. He’s had previous incidents with the same group of children over the last 18 months but this has been the most brutal attack.
"The lesson before lunchtime, he was asked by one of the boys if he could go to the shop for them. He said no and they said that they were going to smash his head in."
She continued: "He’s come out of lunch and they’d cornered him in a part of the school. They blocked him in and attacked him for thirty minutes.
"In the thirty minutes, the main group leader would stop the boys from fighting and ask him ‘are you going to go to the shop then?’. My son would say he wasn’t and the leader would tell the boys to carry on.
"The teachers didn’t query where these boys were for 30 minutes. It took them 30 minutes to go and find out what was going on. When they came out, the boys all ran, he was on the floor."
Becci added that her son ran out of the school to ring her, saying: "Mum, they’ve bashed my face in". He was brought home and Becci took him to the hospital.
Pictures seen by the ECHO show heavy bruising and cuts to Becci's son's face. She said that the incident has left him a 'shell' of his former self.
Becci is unimpressed with De La Salle's response, stating that, as of Thursday, she had not yet heard from the school's headteacher. She added: " The school is not doing very much in my eyes. I’ve heard rumours that they’ve only suspended them, pending an investigation. My son’s face was smashed in - it’s terrible what they’ve done - it’s brutal.
" I’ve got about 10 names that were hitting him and were very involved in it. The other 10 were bystanders and were watching it. When he was trying to get out of the scuffle, he was getting blocked in from every corner by these bystanders, making sure he didn’t get back out of the circle that they put him in."
Becci now plans to move out of Croxteth to ensure her son's safety and wellbeing. She explained: "We live in the area where these boys live. I’ve now got to try and move again. I’ve not long moved to this house. It’s disgraceful that I’ve got to take him out of an area.
"He is in year 11, he finishes his GCSEs in the next few weeks. So he won't be going back to school at all.
"We are looking at doing his GCSEs in another school setting because his anxiety is quite bad. He’s not going back to De La Salle and his next call is college further away so that he’s not near any of these kids. She added: " He’s autistic - he was targeted because he’s vulnerable.”
On Thursday (April 28), a spokesperson for De La Salle told the ECHO : "Following an incident at the end of lunch time on Tuesday, April 26, a young man was assaulted by other boys at the school.
"The young man left the school site, he was found and taken home by senior staff.
"The school undertook an investigation immediately and all boys involved, either directly or indirectly – have received consequences. The investigation has highlighted that two boys were directly involved with the assault, although the full facts surrounding the incident are still being investigated. Although I am unable to comment on consequences for other students, the school does take a zero tolerance approach to all bullying. The safety of all our students is paramount to us.
"School has been in regular contact with mum since, to keep her updated and to check on her son’s welfare, the last call being made at 3pm on Wednesday evening.
"The school is also cooperating fully with the police in regards to the assault."
Merseyside Police said they are investigating a report of a high school pupil being assaulted at The De La Salle Academy, Carr Lane East, on Tuesday, April 26.
Community Inspector Sarah Rotherham said: “This was an unprovoked attack on a 15-year-old boy and we are supporting him and his family as he recovers from the physical and psychological effects of this incident.
“We are liaising with the school in order to identify those responsible and take appropriate action.”
