Mother urges school, parents to stop bullying

A New Brunswick mother is calling on educators and parents to stop bullying in schools after taunts against her daughter and a friend became so bad that they are now being escorted to class.

Sam Gregg, 16, and Amanda Taylor, 15, say the bullying started on the first day of school at Sussex Regional High School.

Annette Gregg, Sam's mother, said she's called school administrators, the RCMP and even Bernard Richard, the province's child and youth advocate, to find a way to stop the bullying.

Gregg said it's time for everyone to work together to end bullying once and for all.

"I don't think a child of any age should be scared to go to school. They have that right to go to school, and learn and get their education," Gregg said.

Meeting provides no solution

In another attempt to halt the bullying, a meeting was held between the students, the bullies and school guidance counsellors. However, that meeting failed to provide a solution.

Starting last week, teaching assistants began following the two girls around to their classes to make sure they weren't bullied inside the school.

"What [the bullies are] trying to do is get us by ourselves, like out in the hall by ourselves and beat us," Sam Gregg said.

"And they'll follow me to my class and they'll follow me … to my locker wherever I'm going. And it's like you know they're behind you and ... they're there. Sometimes you can hear them saying comments but other times, it's just that you have that feeling you turn around and they're following you."

Plans a school transfer

Amanda Taylor said the taunts have gotten so bad that she plans to transfer to another school.

"It's pretty scary actually … you're watching your back everywhere you go," Taylor said.

"When I'm in school trying to learn about what the teacher is saying, I'm not learning about that I'm thinking how am I going to get my butt to the next class safely."

Representatives from the school were unavailable to comment.