A schoolgirl at St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School in East Kilbride, Scotland, was punched and had her hair pulled in an incident filmed by other children, who laughed
A schoolgirl was reportedly attacked by another pupil in a shocking fight as footage appeared to show her being punched and grabbed by her hair, as others looked on laughing.
Video appears to show the girl being repeatedly hit on the head and dragged by her hair as laughing pupils watch and film the attack on their phones. There are then chaotic scenes as a teacher attempts to intervene and shouts for help.
The video of the attack, which was reportedly filmed in St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School in East Kilbride, Scotland, was captured by other pupils on their phones and has been circulating on social media. Stewart Nicolson, Head of Education (Secondary) at South Lanarkshire Council, told the Daily Record : “St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School is an excellent place of learning where pupil and staff safety is paramount.
“It would be inaccurate and unfair to use isolated incidents to try to portray otherwise. Where any incidents of violent behaviour occur, these are taken very seriously.
“They are investigated robustly and issues are addressed by the head teacher and other senior members of staff. While we would not comment on individual pupils, we can offer reassurance that the filmed incident was defused by staff, and those involved were dealt with appropriately.”
East Kilbride MSP Collette Stevenson, who has previously raised issues around teen violence after a filmed gang assault kickstarted an online support group last year, described the footage as “shocking”. She said: “This latest footage is shocking and of course needs addressing by the school.
“Whilst this is a matter ultimately for the schools to deal with and South Lanarkshire Council, I have reached out numerous times in the past with police and to the highest level at Education Resources. Last month, I asked if the school could explore the use of a campus cop and was told there were no such plans to do so.
“Any form of assault is wrong and each occasion should be reported to both the school and with the police.”
Police confirmed they received a report of youths in possession of weapons, but after a search of the area “no criminality was established”. Parents claimed the “terrifying” incident led to pupils being locked indoors but South Lanarkshire Council denied this and said there had been “no violent incidents” at the school.
In response to the incident on February 13, Anne Donaldson, interim executive director of Education Resources at South Lanarkshire Council, said: “We have been made aware of social media rumours about incidents that have been connected to St Andrew’s and St Bride’s.
“The school has discussed these with Police Scotland and we will support any investigation into these matters.
“However, there have been no violent incidents within St Andrew’s and St Bride’s and we are fully committed to ensuring that the school environment remains safe, respectful and positive.”