Lorre White reports: Teens of Wealthy Homes being Bullied

‘Teenagers are being bullied because they come from wealthy homes, according to a New Survey.’ reports Lorre White.

The poll of almost 2,000 students has revealed that those from wealth families are in a high risk category for being bullied

Photo: ALAM

Youngsters from affluent backgrounds are being targeted because of their accents, their parents “flashy” houses and cars and their hobbies, according to an anti-bullying charity.

Some teenagers even reported trying to change the way they speak to stop being accused of being “posh”.

The poll of almost 2,000 students has revealed that those from wealth families are in a “high risk” category for being bullied.

Some 12 per cent from high-income homes said they had been targeted because of their wealth, with those from the £200,001 plus bracket most likely to say they had been persecuted.

The findings come as leading head teachers warn of a growing “posh prejudice” which is leading to “jealousy and hostility”.

In last week’s Sunday Telegraph, an Oxford University don revealed that admission tutors “crave a Geordie or Scouse accent after a few days interviewing the next generation of Borises and Daves.”

The study polled 1,800 16 to 26 year olds in about 20 state sixth form and further education colleges across the country. Most of those questioned were teenagers.

Seven in 10 respondents reported they experienced bullying before their 18th birthday: sixty per cent for their appearance, 36 per cent for their interests, 11 per cent for their sexuality and 2 per cent because of their wealth.

Wealth has an impact on susceptibility to bullying,” said Liam Hackett, founder of the anti-bullying organization Ditch the Label which carried out the survey.

We found that students from the £200,001 plus household income bracket were more vulnerable to bullying than students from lower income backgrounds.

“Other young people may well be jealous of their backgrounds and lifestyle. There may be noticeable differences that young people from wealthier backgrounds can sometimes exhibit and others can target, such as accents. Differences in their interests, hobbies and lifestyles might be attacked – if their parents drive luxury cars, if they live in a big house, if they go on nice holidays to exotic places, go horse riding or sailing at the weekend, for instance.”

Jon Cross, 20, from Hampshire, who moved from independent school to a state school when he was 12, said he tried to change his accent to fit in.

“I experienced a lot of verbal bullying and was targeted because of my voice and the way I pronounced words. I spoke “posh” and felt like I stood out and was called “posh boy”.”

Other pupils at the school tried to force him to behave badly to get him in to trouble.

“They once asked me to call a teacher fat and ask her who ate all the pies and I refused so the bullying got worse,” said Mr Cross, who is now at university. “I would occasionally get pens thrown at me and there were a lot of taunts. I didn’t want to tell a teacher because I felt embarrassed and thought the bullying would get worse. As time went on it became less frequent and eventually ended when I started college.”

One teenager posted on an education website recently that he was being bullied because his dad was a doctor and drove expensive cars.

“I get bullied because I’m “rich”. I live in a small village and my dad owns a GP practice and drives quite “flashy” cars (Audi R8, Range Rover and Mercedes S Class). I don’t want to tell my parents because it’s the only school in this village so my family will need to move somewhere else. My mum and dad love living in the house that were in now. I get called “rich kid” and get pushed around and all that stuff.”

Last week, Frances King, the headmistress of Roedean School, in Sussex, complained of hostility towards independent schools. She said that private schools had received a “bruising time” and that it was “hard working” being on “negative side of public opinion”. She is leaving the £30,000 a year boarding school to head a school in Switzerland.

Anthony Seldon, the master of Wellington College in Berkshire, said last month of “jealousy and hostility” towards private schools, saying positive discrimination in university admissions to favor state school pupils was “the hatred that dare not speak its name”.

Ditch the Label is a not-for-profit organisation based in Brighton. They promote messages of equality and provide support for those that need it, on their website and social network. Its founder, Liam Hackett, was inspired to launch the project after his own experience of bullying and discrimination while at school.

From the age of 16, he’s been nurturing Ditch the Label.

Here, he tells his story, and explains more about Ditch the Label:

“Growing up for me was difficult. I was bullied constantly for being gay, before I knew what it actually meant, starting in primary school and gradually worsening in secondary school. Being called gay constantly from a really early age was really hard, I was still trying to figure myself out and the negative backdrop was making me feel wrong about my growing feelings for other guys. The bullying turned physical and I was admitted to hospital at the age of 16 after being attacked outside of school by a group of bullies.

I had stitches in my face and I was in a really dark place. I eventually left school and started college, and I finally started to feel greater acceptance and more comfortable with myself and my sexuality. I realized that sexuality is actually not a big deal after I had spent my time at school believing that it was the ‘be all and end all’.

I had witnessed other people being bullied, too, for things like the colour of their skin, a disability or even the music that they listen to. After leaving school at 16 I was inspired to launch Ditch the Label – a campaign used to promote equality and to provide support for young people trying to deal with bullying. Over the years the campaign has grown organically and we now operate our own social network that currently has over 29,000 members worldwide. I always had the support from my friends and family but never actually had anybody experienced to talk to, so the service bridges the gap.

I have recently graduated from the University of Sussex with an honours degree in Business and Management with Marketing and spend a lot of my time on Ditch the Label. We have just launched a new website and an amazing photo campaign that really encapsulates the vision and the future of Ditch the Label. We have recently interviewed some really inspirational celebrities and gained their bullying stories, advice and support for Ditch the Label.

We are now looking to expand with a merchandise range and a dedicated online counselling service, so that young people can speak in confidence with somebody that is trained to provide them with all the advice that they need when dealing with bullying, both offline and online.”

– By Julie Henry, (telegraph.co.uk) via Lorre White, WOMAN of ACTION™

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