14 DAY TRIAL // Britain’s youngest Olympic competitor Tom Daley has been pulled from school for an entire week now because of bullying and the repeated threats he receives from older boys, The Guardian informs. Speaking out on the issue, Daley, who is just 14, says the situation has gotten to a point where he can’t just ignore the bullies since they have threatened to physically harm him.
According to the multi-champion and his father, the bullying has been going on for some time, but it got particularly worse after the Beijing Olympics, which is where Daley reached the status of international superstar for his achievements. Mr. Daley believes his son is being treated so badly at school because kids are jealous and they just follow one another in their behavior. Officials at Eggbuckland Community College have not done anything about the situation yet, the father says, despite his many complaints.
“It’s gone on a long time. But it reached a peak after the Olympics and has just stayed there. They’ve been taking the mick for ages, calling me ‘Diver Boy,’ but they now spend most of their time throwing stuff at me. I thought it would calm down but it hasn’t. Normally I try not to go out during breaks if I can help it. I just stay in class.” Tom says for the publication. “Speedo Boy” is another nickname that bullies use for him at school and, what’s worse, he says, is that younger kids imitate what they see the older ones doing.
As Tom says he wouldn’t mind it so much if he never returned to school (since he’s away most of the time either way), his father is on the verge of desperation because he wants someone to do something about the situation so that his son receives the education he’s entitled to. All this while, school officials deny the bullying is so severe, although they do admit that some students have been reprimanded for “immature behavior” as regards the champion.
“The bullying is severe. He has been tackled to the floor walking through the school field and in class they throw pens and pencils at him. Some of them have even threatened to break his legs. That was the last straw. It has got to the point where enough is enough.” Mr. Daley tells the publication. “The school has had plenty of opportunities to sort it out but it hasn’t been done. Unless they can show me that it has stopped I’ll have to move him to another school. It’s just jealousy – it can’t be anything else. He just wants to go to school and be educated and he has the right to do that.” he concludes by saying.