Girl allegedly bullied by boy in her class to leave school as High Court case struck out

The Four Courts in Dublin. Picture: Getty

Tim Healy

January 26 2023 03:49 PM

A High Court action over allegations that a schoolgirl had been bullied by a male classmate has been resolved.

The court heard the girl will now be leaving the school.

Last December, the student and her father initiated proceedings against the school over its alleged failure to protect her from the boy in her class she says has bullied and injured her.

In the action against the board of management, it was claimed the school had not taken any appropriate steps to deal with the other child.

The board denied any wrongdoing.

It claimed the girl's father had not exhausted all of the internal complaint remedies available to them before commencing court proceedings.

The parties cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The matter has been adjourned after an investigation into the allegations of bullying was conducted by a member of the school's board.

When the case returned before Mr Justice Brian Cregan on Thursday, the court was told that the proceedings had been fully resolved and, with the consent of the parties, could be struck out with no order.

The court heard that the applicants had received the report following the board member’s investigation and the girl will now be leaving the school.

The judge made no order for costs in the matter, meaning that both sides will have to pay their own legal costs.

The father and his daughter had sought orders including injunctions directing the board to keep the girl separated from the other student at all times in the school.

They also sought that the other student not be in attendance in the same classroom at the same time as the girl.

They further sought that the school complete its investigation into complaints raised and to take reasonable steps to ensure the girl’s safety while she was at the school.

The other child was not a party to the proceedings.

The court had heard that the girl had claimed that she had been bullied by the other child on several occasions over the last two and a half years.

The girl’s father claimed that meetings with the school’s principal had not resolved his concerns. He claimed the school had not treated the other student’s behaviour as bullying and harassment.

In a recent incident, it was claimed that the girl required medical attention and suffered injury after being kicked by the other child.