Bullying Impacting School Grades: According to a new report, released by anti-bullying charity ‘Ditch the Label’ and published on BBC Newsbeat, 56% of pupils who suffered from bullying felt it was having an impact on their education. The report, which considered the views of 3,600 students aged between 13 and 18, showed that bullied pupils were more likely to achieve a grade D or below, and were much more likely to self-harm (almost a third) or attempt suicide (1 in 10) than students not suffering from bullying. {Tweet this}

Bullying Impacting School Grades, Says New Education Market Research Report

Other figures from the report, described as providing the “UK’s most comprehensive bullying statistics,” include the finding that for 83% of students, bullying affects their self-esteem. In addition, 45% of young people experience bullying prior to the age of 18 and more than a quarter of those (26%) experience bullying on a daily basis. {Tweet this}

The reasons young people give for being bullied are generally related to personal appearance (40%) – with 36% mentioning body shape, size and weight specifically. Around a third (34%) said they were bullied for reasons of prejudice, including race, homophobia, religion, disabilities or transphobia as well as more wide-ranging cultural aspects. Other reasons included attitudes towards a student’s interests (32%), attitudes towards a student achieving high grades (22%) or because a friend or family member was also bullied (20%).

Three fifths of respondents (61%) had been physically attacked.

Worryingly for schools and school leaders, half of the 13-18 year olds surveyed were unhappy with their teachers’ reactions to bullying, and did not feel that they were offered enough support by school staff. {Tweet this}

In addition, the report also looked at the grades achieved by pupils who had suffered from bullying. Among those who had never been bullied, 41% achieved an A or A* grade in English. This figure dropped to less than a third (30%) of those who had been bullied in the past, and to only a quarter (26%) of those being bullied. Drop the Label also stated that these figures we similar across science and maths.