Did any GNs know a school bully?

There was a horrible girl in my year at school. Everyone was scared of her and her family. My mum had bought me a new coat and one day at P.E my coat was missing. Other girls saw her take it but I was so scared to confront her. We had to end up changing the locks etc on our front door as my house keys were in the pocket! She was that bad at 14 years old. My mum wanted to complain to the headmaster, but I was so scared of what the girl would of done to me. I still see her in town now and she still looks scary decades later!

I remember a particularly nasty girl at school in the early 1960s who used to try and sit opposite me at lunch and then kick me viciously under the table so that I screamed. I then got in trouble with the teachers for screaming but didn't feel able to say anything. Looking back it was a private school with some boarders as well as day girls like me and the boarders like her were all quite unhappy and mixed up.

Sadly the worst bully I endured was my teacher in the top form of junior school. For some reason she took a dislike to me, and was a relentless bully. If I made a mistake in class she would make me stand on the chair and make the other children point at me and laugh. She never laid a hand on me, but I was terrified. I tried to tell my Mum, who spoke to the teacher and was told I was a lovely little girl who was making things up for attention. I used to be sick before school as I was so frightened, but my Mum would smack me and send me in. It only ended when I left that school, but the effects stayed with me for at least 40 years.

During my first year at primary, I had to wear red knickers for school when they should have been brown. We were short of cash then. One girl , my height and age, started to make fun of me. She was pointing her finger saying , look at her red drawers. I was really angry, and asked her to repeat what she had just said, because I didn't quite hear her. She did repeat it and I smacked her face so hard she fell over. Funny, I was never bullied from that day onwards.

As a small girl of about 10 I was petrified of the Griffiths boys. They had “shredded wheat” hair. My thought at that time!! They drew in chalk on the back of my coat among other things. Many years later now a young women one asked me out! I said no.

I seemed to attract bullies. I was the clever, fat kid who wore glasses. The worst psychological bullying was inflicted on me by a teacher in primary school. The worst physical bullying was inflicted by a girl in Junior High. One day whilst queueing outside the PE changing rooms she put her hands around my throat and strangled me until I virtually passed out. She only let go when it was obvious that I was collapsing and I assume that even she didn't want me unconscious when the teacher arrived. I went on to be bullied in a more subtle way at secondary school and then married a bully. Let's be honest by the time I met him I was a soft touch.

As a teacher I worked with children who were bullies and began to see them as more than just children who liked to hurt other people. These children had massive problems of their own which sadly they took out on other children but understanding them doesn't take away the damage that my bullies did to me.

One of my lovely dds was bullied verbally at senior school by two butter-wouldn’t-melt little b*tches.

Several years after leaving school she bumped into them at a busy nightspot, while on holiday abroad.

They were all fake-sweet, huggy-kissy, and dd was pleasantly polite before returning to her own friends.

However, having said, ‘God, I wish I’d told them exactly what I think of them!’, a few minutes later (she’d had a few drinks by then) she went and did exactly that - a no-holds-barred tirade that had a bloke who was with them saying, ‘Er, steady on....’ -
a fiery flash from dd’s eyes soon quelled him.

She phoned the next day to tell me what had happened.
I said, ‘Did you enjoy it?’
‘God, yes, it was lovely!’

Anyone not realising the life long damage bullying can cause just needs to read this thread.

Childhood incidents from 60+ years ago being described in unforgettable detail

I was bullied at school, which made me hate going in every day, my confidence too a dive and I couldn't wait to leave. I was put off doing further education ie college. I often wonder if I would have done better had I enjoyed school and bullies did exist. Bullies can really ruin your life.

I was a bit of a wimp, and what could be termed an odd bod, at school, and become the prey of a coterie of bullies who would rough me up and generally intimidate me at break time. They would also wait for me when we left school and then their roughing up became a little rougher - I had my head banged against a wall on more than one occasion. I had occasion to run into one of them much later in life; recognised her immediately and she must have recognised me because she looked distinctly embarrassed and hurried away. I remember thinking “I hope no-one makes your child’s life the misery that you made mine”.

A few years ago I heard that a girl I hated at school, who picked on me mercilessly, had actually died of cancer in her 40s. Now in my mid sixties, I felt strangely sad.

Unfortunately i was badly bullied at school for the unforgivable crime of been over weight and having a downs syndrome brother,and in their eyes i was ugly, which was told to me on every possible occasion there was one particular group of girls that were particularly vile,lead by a girl called Samantha, my senior school life was hell, i often wonder what happened to them

There have always been school bullies and sadly I feel there always will be. In an ideal world schools would deal with the problem but we all know that doesn’t always happen.

The knack of course is learning how best to deal with them and that’s easier said than done.

In many ways I feel it’s worse for children these days as the bullying goes on even when they are at home via social media.

I guess parents can play a big part by encouraging their child to stand up to the bullies because that’s the only way to defeat them.

I was verbally bullied and put down to others by a girl in my class for most of my school life. I never told my mother, or anyone and adults thought we were friends. It has had a lasting impact, but I now realise she was struggling with real difficulties herself, and for some reason was jealous of me. But it madee me very unsure of myself.

The headmaster in my primary school was the most awful bully . I can still remember his frog eyes nearly popping out of his head as he shouted . He marched around the school in his pin striped suit and drove a red sports car. My worst memory of him was making a boy in my class (we were about 8 or 9) wet his pants as he dragged him out of the assembly for fidgeting.

He must’ve felt so powerful and proud .

In junior school there was a girl who picked on me relentlessly, she wouldn't let anyone play with me at playtime. One day I'd had enough and pushed her over in the playground. It was me who got into trouble but she never bothered me again.

I was bullied by my sister. I am the 3rd of 3 girls. She is 3 years older than me. We shared a bedroom and I was frightened of her. Nothing physical but always mocking, putting me down, deliberately doing things she knew would upset me very forcefully. My mother thought the sun shone from her backside because she passed her 11+ so went to the posh grammar school. I failed and went to the awful secondary. My father was never at home. I just had to put up with it. She got married very young and moved to a different town (thankfully). Some years later she moved abroad so our relationship as we got older just passed into just being polite. Ive never discussed her behaviour with her - not much point now. In fact I have never mentioned any of this to anyone, not ever

I too went to an all girls Grammar School in the early 60’s. The girls were from all walks of life and to my memory got on well, although there was an unwritten rule that you stuck within your own year, unless you had a sister at school. We looked down on the young ones and up to the next year. Of course the 6th formers thought they were ‘special’ and some were very glamorous-wearing their school felt hats pinned to the back of their heads!!
However - the DSS HQ was relocated to our City from London, so we had an influx of ‘southerners’ and a couple of their girls were added to our class. One was a real pain in the backside - always saying we were all stupid, lacked the social skills and culture of London, Dads in the pits or factories etc. and found our beautiful City awful.
We had art class all afternoon and she was at it again. Suddenly my best friend D stood up, grabbed a big tin of red powder paint, marched across the art room and emptied it over her head! I can’t remember any repercussions other than the girl being sent home, while we continued with our class! Think the art mistress must’ve had enough of her comments too.
I remember she did mellow, opened a very nice coffee shop and came to a couple of old girls reunions in the 80’s.

So many horror stories here, so I will add mine. We had a teacher/bully at my primary school who had taken a serious dislike to one of the girls in my class - we're talking 8 year olds here, and a very long time ago. She relentlessly tormented and punished this child, but one occasion has always stood out in my memory. We were lining up in the playground, when the teacher suddenly pulled her out for some unobserved crime, dragged her to the wall and began to push her violently against it. We all, collectively, were aghast, but didn't know what to do, and in those days there weren't any anti-bullying strategies available legally. We were also all working class kids and she was authority. In later years, after she retired, she was a nice respectable elderly lady my Mum used to chat with - ugh! I've never forgotten that incident, and often wondered what eventually happened to the girl. The funny thing is that I can't remember any of us having any kind of relationship with her, good or bad, but I do remember that collective horror we felt. Bet her mum never complained when she came home bruised and bleeding.

Bullied in the last year of primary school. She would step on the back of my shoe, nip, punch etc. I put up with it for two terms, then I lost my temper. I got her downon the playground, knelt on her shoulders, and banged her head in the concrete. Got the cane but so did she.

I attended all fantastic school some distance away from my home but close to my gran, as mum worked I would go to grans after school. When I was 7 I could go to the junior school much closer to home, but I didn't know anyone! After a few months a got to know some other children one of whom was very domineering. One playtime she announced "we are all going to play with the friends we knew at out last school" ! Naturally, they all came from the feeder infant school and all knew each other; I knew no one and was mortified by this girls actions! I have never forgiven her.

Oooops sorry, I attended an infant school!!!!!!!!! ??????

Oh yes-Lynne B , Lyn A and Dorothy W still remembered after all this time. The only good it did me is that, when I was called into school after my daughter responded to bra strap twanging and hair pulling in the same way EllenVannin did,
I said that I wholeheartedly supported the school when they said she should be excluded for 2 days But that I expected in future that they would deal with the persistent bullying that had been going on resulting in her outburst.
She was not excluded, they were dealt with. I wish I’d gone in earlier but my DD always said she was dealing with it and thought my complaints might make it worse.

Yes, there was a bully in my class, but we were sufficient number of us in the class who ignored her, so she didn't get very far.

I had the added advantage of two long plaits, plaited by my mother, so they were hard. I discovered if I stood in front of a girl who was trying to bully and turned my head sharply, my plaits slapped her face.

I couldn't be told off for turning my head smartly either.

It tended to stop bullies.

Would any of you confront your bullies 40 years later? The girl that bullied me physically, daily aged 11, is now part of a Facebook school reunion page that I’m on. The sight of her profile picture makes me feel physically sick and brings back awful memories.
I want her to know the damage that she did, I’m still angry that no one cared at the time. Would it help to message her or should I just let it lie?