Mum of school attack video victim speaks of her horror and upset

A young mum has spoken of her upset at how a Lurgan school handled a vicious attack on her 12-year-old son.
St Ronan's College in Lurgan Photo by GoogleSt Ronan's College in Lurgan Photo by Google
St Ronan's College in Lurgan Photo by Google

The 32-year-old, who is currently undergoing treatment for a serious illness, says she is disgusted at how St Ronan’s College dealt with her son’s bullying ordeal after a video of an incident in the school grounds went viral online.

The video, shared across multiple social media platforms, showed the boy lying on the grass curled in a ball while being kicked and punched repeatedly in the head and body.

Click here to read about the shocking video of attack on St Ronan’s College pupilThe Year 8 pupil’s mum said she was contacted by a number of parents who also had children at the school who said they had experienced bullying. She also criticised the school’s response to incident relating to her son.

The young mum said on the afternoon her son was attacked (May 22), she was contacted at 2.20pm by the Year Head who told her that her son had been hit again. She said her son had been attacked the day before by a different boy.

“I asked if he was alright and she said he had a cut lip. I asked to speak to him on the phone and asked him how he was. He said he was ok and could he tell me when he got home. Unknown to me this call was an hour and a half after the attack and my son sounded calm.

“With exams coming up, he had double maths, and said he was ok to stay for this class,” said his mum, adding that she would pick him up at the end of the school day.

“As soon as he got into the car, I just looked at him and I cried. I saw a senior teacher standing at the gates and I went over and told her it was absolutely ridiculous the state my son had been sent home to me in. I was told on the phone he had a cut lip,” she said adding that the child had a lot more injuries including bruising and cuts to his head and face. “The school failed to inform me of the ferocity of the attack,” she added.

She said her son suffered dizziness after the attack and she had taken him to hospital where he was diagnosed with mild concussion.

She said it took her hours to watch the video as it was ‘so distressing’. She also claimed her son received a copy of the video from his attacker.

“My son is distraught,” she said. “His cuts and bruises have cleared up but it’s his mental scars we are still dealing with. He is not sleeping well.We have spoken with the board of governors who advised us to tell the other families who have suffered at the hands of bullies at St Ronan’s College to get in contact with them at the St. Ronan’s, Francis Street site.”

She said: “I just want them to investigate this and take the appropriate action needed.

“I want my son in a safe environment. I left him to school thinking he was in safe hands.”

“It has just been a horrendous time, that video haunts me day in day out,” she added.

When asked for a response St Ronan’s College said: “Regarding the incident to which you refer, this matter is currently the subject of investigation by the Board of Governors.

“Until that investigation is completed, it would not be appropriate for the College to make any comment at this time.”

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