A WORRIED dad has spoken of how his teenage son tried to take his own life after being bullied at school.

Brian Rollitt, of Grasmere, said his son Joseph attempted to kill himself after fellow pupils subjected him to repeated name-calling, told him he was "useless" and made fun of a medical condition he had.

Mr Rollitt was one of three parents who told the Gazette they had stopped their children from attending the Lakes School in Troutbeck Bridge after bullying from other kids.

The school said it does not tolerate bullying and acts "swiftly and supportively" to deal with any issues.

Mr Rollitt that following Joseph’s suicide attempt in January 2019, he felt he had no choice but to take his son permanently away from the school.

He said Joseph was still not fit to return to permanent education.

"My son’s lost everything, Joseph wouldn’t come out of his bedroom," said Mr Rollitt.

"He just slept all day. We have had medical staff out to see him and all sorts."

Another parent, Emma Peterkin, said she decided to stop her 15-year-old daughter from attending school in July last year due to the overlapping effects of bullying and an underlying medical condition.

Ms Peterkin said the problems also surrounded name calling and it got to the stage where she could not get her daughter to go to school.

“It just made her feel low, really, really low," she said.

"She’d melt down. (Sometimes) she’ll just put a hood over her head or a cover over her head. She’ll listen to what you’re saying but she just completely shuts off. She won’t speak.”

Sara Sykes, of Grasmere, took her 13-year-old daughter away from the school in September 2019 for reasons which included bullying.

“People called her names, told her she stunk, that she wasn’t all there,” she said.

According to Ms Sykes, schoolchildren had an online group chat in which other students swore at her daughter and subjected her to further abuse. Unsurprisingly, all of this had an effect.

“She was awful, absolutely awful,” said Ms Sykes.

“Slamming doors. Screaming. I don’t have any of that now. It was absolutely horrendous.”

She said she felt the school could only do so much when it was responsible for hundreds of children.

Andy Cunningham, head teacher, said: “The Lakes School does not tolerate bullying in any form and staff work swiftly and in a supportive way to deal with any issues that arise between students in line with our whole school behaviour policy and procedures.

"This policy also clearly sets out the school’s position with regard to bullying."

Ofsted visited The Lakes School in November 2019 and their report said: ‘Leaders and teachers make The Lakes School a welcoming and happy place to be. Pupils feel safe. The rare cases of bullying are quickly sorted.”