York High tackles bullying

GEORGE NEWS - Bullying is one of the big issues school children struggle with, be it as the bully or the victim. This is why the Pastoral Panel at York High School, a group of learners looking after the emotional well-being of the learners, decided to step in.

Chara Scholtz, from the Pastoral Panel, says she feels really strongly about this issue and ways to help those learners. "Broken people do broken things, so we want to try and heal those people." Ten other schools in the area are also involved and they look forward to finding ways to support each other.

Delina van Niekerk, the head teacher of the panel, says there are two members of the Pastoral Panel in each class, and they try to motivate their fellow peers.

"They are also the ones who keep their ear to the ground, listen for these type of situations and try to gain the trust of those learners to tell their stories."

The learners made various posters about bullies and being bullied - there is even a "no bully zone". Van Niekerk says the school has a strict policy of no tolerance and holds disciplinary hearings.

"If something physical is done to a learner, it is easy to see, but it's the emotional abuse, the hurtful words, that we need to look out for. So we as counsellors at the schools take the process further to get behind the cause of the problem."

The school kicked off their anti-bullying week on Monday with a short play illustrating what bullying looks or sounds like, and how to counter such behaviour.

York learners performed a short production on being bullied and how to act towards bullies on Monday.

The programme for the rest of the week includes York's Pastoral Panel handing out lollipops with encouraging quotes on Tuesday; hosting a guest speaker on Wednesday who shared his story own story and encouraged the learners to do it too; presenting an anti-bullying simulation today (Thursday), and finally, a civvies day on Friday where all learners at all of the schools involved will wear blue in a stand against bullying.