First and Third Year students attend anti-bullying workshops with outside speakers

Last week, during Anti-bullying Week, First Year students attended an anti-bullying workshop with outside speaker, Kevin Hayes from the Constant Change Company.

Kevin spoke to the students about how to recognise signs of bullying and gave advice about how to deal with bullying and how to report it.

Antos Janczak said, “I really enjoyed how I could relate to Kevin’s stories about bullying because it used to be a problem in my life a few years ago. I also liked how Kevin turned a serious subject into learning more about it and having a laugh at the same time. All in all, it was fantastic.”

Noah Husain commented, “Kevin also told us how to deal with bullies, why they bully and how to not become one yourself. He did all of that but made it fun at the same time. At the end Kevin did a mind-blowing card trick that amazed everyone.”

And Ryan Ilmane added, “The story he told us was pretty funny and the magic trick he pulled off at the end was amazing. I liked when we talked to the person next to us about what kinds of people bully others and the people that get bullied”.

The Third Year also had an anti-bullying workshop with actor and author, Robert Higgs, who was bullied as a secondary school student. He shared his own personal experience. A very experienced speaker, he began the workshop by performing a short piece of drama, a monologue, about bullying. The workshop then looked at the wide range of issues involved.

Elliot Secord explained, “I learned a lot from the assembly, such as how to stand up to bullying in effective ways so I can protect myself and others. The assembly discussed how to stop bullying if you don’t feel comfortable telling a teacher, which could be helpful for students how are afraid of doing so.

“I love how Robert made the assembling very funny and entertaining to watch, and included the audience in lots of ways. I was even chosen to act as a bully and person being bullied to show the audience how the situation might look – with exaggerated emotions to make it more entertaining. This assembly was a great experience as I, and many others, learned a lot of helpful and important skills and had lots of fun doing so.”