School Bullies

The start of secondary education can be the happiest time of your life but they can also be the most traumatic, peer pressure is at its greatest and the need to fit in and be part of the crowd can really be a turning point in so many ways.
I look back to my own and remember getting the bus and my older sister keeping an eye on me and making sure I went the right way etc. but also she wanted to catch up with her own friends and not be ‘babysitting.’ I went to my first secondary school for 2 full school years and one term and then as we moved house went to another and the difference between both schools was amazing.
Sadly bullying is part of school life and I have to admit when I look back I was both victim and perpetrator, I am appalled that my behaviour to others in making fun and belittling them just so people would like me and think me funny could have resulted in other class mated being miserable.
I have always struggled to feel sympathy for ‘Fat Kids’ although I blame the parents more than the children although there are always exceptions but I take my hat off to Allie McCormack who having been nicknamed ‘Fatzilla’ and pelted with flour by bullies her mother took the necessary action to help her reduce weight.
Then when Allie was physically assaulted in May 2010 she told her mother she had started getting suicidal thoughts.
'I was desperate to get help, she was so unhappy,' said Lesley, who lives with her daughter in Salford, Manchester.
Allie, who was then 12-years-old was 4ft 9in tall but weighed 13.7st and had a 40inch waist.
So Ms McCormack started searching for something that would help her daughter deal with her weight issue and boost her self-esteem.
She came across the CWM Health's residential summer camp - the first camp set up in the UK to help overweight children.
The eight-week course held at Woodhouse Grove School in Yorkshire rejected a bootcamp philosophy. Instead it focused on making sustainable changes and building confidence.
A typical day included three one-hour classes such as boxercise or basketball and at least one lifestyle lesson, such as learning about portion control.
Lesley appealed to her PCT, MP and even Downing Street for a referral, but was repeatedly turned down.
'The doctors would not listen and blamed me for Allie's weight,' she said.
Finally she turned to her family and managed to raise the £5,000 to send her privately.
It gave Allie the kick-start she needed to turn her life around. The 13-year-old is now 5ft1" but is 3st lighter tipping the scales at 10.9st. She has also lost 10inches from around her waist and has been able to reduce her epilepsy medication by 20 per cent.

Lesley said: 'She is happy and she looks incredible. Allie is a true inspiration to everyone who knows her.'
She added: 'Attacking children or their parents about what they're eating isn't the answer.
'I want to reach parents who are not getting help. We feel bullied to. You stay behind closed doors because every time you open them you get judged.'
Allie plans to return to the camp for a fortnight this year after the fees were donated by the health insurance company Simply Health.
'Allie is so excited she's going back', Lesley said.
'The camp showed her she can be who she wants to be.'
CWM Health, was founded in 1999 by Professor Paul Gately. The summer camp is open to referrals from doctors and PCTs who fund placements, but this year referrals have halved as NHS spending cuts take effect.
For more information about CMW Health visit www.cwmhealth.com
Looking back to school the PE teachers never took an interest in the fat or un co-ordinated kids it was just the sporty ones we took their attention I laugh when I see in films the fat boys getting stuck in goal or defence as that is exactly what used to happen.
What a shame that schools cannot make more of an effort to help children and build up their confidence and educate them about healthy eating.