SchoolGate - Tom Daley's bullying and one woman's story

The parents of the Olympic diver Tom Daley have taken him out of school after he complained of being bullied.

The 14-year-old athlete, who found himself in the public eye while representing Britain at the Beijing Olympics last year, said that he had been attacked by pupils in the playground of his school in Devon.

His parents said that the bullying began when he started Year 10 in September, after returning from China. The situation became untenable last week when an older boy allegedly cornered Tom and said: “How much are those legs worth? We’re going to break your legs.”

His father, Rob Daley, 38, said that he kept his son at home this week after staff at the Eggbuckland Community College in Plymouth refused to take action, despite complaints being lodged. Mr Daley said he was concerned that the bullying could affect his son’s performance in a competition in Florida next month. He said that if the bullying did not stop he would move Tom to a new school.

“The bullying is severe,” he said. “He has been tackled to the floor walking through the school field and in class they throw pens and pencils at him. Some have even threatened to break his legs. That was the last straw. The school has had plenty of opportunities to sort it out but it hasn’t been done. It’s gone way beyond mickey-taking; he has the whole school on his back and he knows that if he retaliates he will be all over the papers. It’s just jealousy — it can’t be anything else. I’ve been to see Tom’s head of year and also the principal, because Tom has been so upset.”

Tom, who finished 7th in the men’s 10m platform event in Beijing, said that he was being victimised by many pupils and had become a “hate” figure.

“I ignored the ‘diver boy’ or ‘Speedo boy’ comments when I came back from Beijing last year, hoping they would get fed up and stop. The trouble is they haven’t, and it’s even the younger kids who are joining in,” he said.

“It’s getting to the stage now where I think ‘Oh, to hell with it. I don’t want to go back to school’. I try not to go out during breaks if I can help it. I just stay in class.

“It’s sad and annoying that I can’t have a normal school life but I put up with it because I’m doing something I love. I’m lucky I’ve got four good friends. They either sit in class with me or we try and find a far-off corner of the field where no one can see us.”

He added: “I have fans outside school, but in school, it’s the opposite — they all hate me.”

Katrina Borowski, the college principal, confirmed that Tom’s “extremely high profile” had led to a number of “immature” students being disciplined.

“We take the wellbeing of students extremely seriously and have a very clear policy for dealing swiftly and firmly with any incidents of conflict that arise,” she said.

Tom is studying for nine GCSEs:maths, English, Spanish, double science and an IT course that is the equivalent of four GCSEs.

Officials at British Swimming, the governing body for diving, said they would provide a psychologist and lifestyle coach for Tom, if he wanted them on his return from the Florida event. “It is a shame but not a surprise in today’s world,” a spokesman for British Swimming said. “Tom’s parents are handling things, but obviously we have a duty of care and are very concerned.”

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