KIDS socked it to the bullies at a Rugby primary school for national Anti-Bullying Week.
Pupils at Bilton C of E Junior school stepped out in socks of all different colours for Odd Socks Day, a National Antibullying Alliance initiative to raise awareness of bullying and encourage children to express their individuality.
At a special assembly led by a member of the Victim Support Service, the children were encouraged to think about what bullying is and the impact it can have.
Head teacher Alexandra Norton said she was delighted with how accepting her pupils are, adding: “Children of all ages work together in the school to support and nurture each other – in the classroom through mentoring schemes, and also in the playground were children from all year groups will join together for the daily mile at the beginning each day and play a variety of games during breaktimes.
“Odd Socks Day has been a bright, colourful and fun way to celebrate their individuality and to embrace the differences of all those around them.”
Deputy headteacher Kate Webb said: “We are incredibly proud of how the children at our school have embraced this idea.
“They have been very creative in their ideas of what to wear, fully enjoying the opportunity to celebrate difference.”
A pupil said: “We had a great day wearing Odd Socks to remind us how important standing up against bullying is.”
Another said: “The assembly we had in the morning talked about us using our words for good.”
And a third added: “Anti-bullying is very important to us. We have an anti-bullying committee where we can discuss our feelings and we have raised money for some great books to add to our library.”
A report by the Antibullying Alliance suggests that many children still miss school and avoid spending time with friends to escape bullying. Visit www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk for more information.
