School bully culture must be stopped

The findings by Trinity that schoolyard 'subcultures' are more likely to be bullied than their mainstream peers makes for worrying reading.

It is probably not very surprising in that children who behave differently are likely to be singled out.

However, the findings show that schools should now pay more attention to the fact that bullying is based on the way people look and the groups they belong to.

The study comes four years after the shocking death in the UK of Sophie Lancaster, a schoolgirl who was battered by a gang of youths, for simply being a 'goth'.

It appears that children who are in 'chav' or 'D4' demographics are most likely to be perpetrators of bullying.

The findings come during anti-bullying week, and hopefully they will create awareness towards the way our children are treated.