Mum pulls partially sighted teen out of school after social media video of attack alerts her to ‘disgusting’ bullying

The mother of a partially sighted 15-year-old student has condemned his former school after a video of an attack by a fellow student shared on social media alerted her to the fact he had been suffering severe bullying and pushed his mental health to breaking point.

Adele Yeoman, 38, from Torquay, Devon, pulled her son Harvey out of St Cuthbert Mayne School in 2022 after discovering he had been repeatedly bullied for the previous two years.

He had not told his mother about the physical and verbal abuse he was facing, which he said included having his hair pulled, being pushed down the stairs and told to “kill himself”.

Harvey was born with a vision impairment and must have his eyes checked every couple of months as his sight progressively degrades, having gone from -1.00 dioptre when he was child to -9.00 dioptres, a unit used to calculate the focusing strength of glasses or contact lenses.

Adele received a phone call from a fellow pupil’s parent almost immediately which alerted her to the video and she informed the police who visited Harvey at home later that evening.

The next day, Harvey wrote a letter to the school, seen by PA Real Life, in which he described feeling let down by the education system, stating the situation had left him “wanting to end his life at times”.

In the letter he describes the bullying he received as “unbelievable and disgusting”.

He has since joined South Devon College to complete his GCSEs and has been given a buddy dog, Alfie, by the charity Guide Dogs, which he said has helped him feel less alone.

“Two years and he didn’t say one word to me,” Adele told PA Real Life.

“It was through a friend’s daughter who rang her mum and said.

“Suddenly it was all over social media, the video of poor Harvey in the school playground.

Around four in five (83%) people living with sight loss in the UK were bullied as children according to a Guide Dog study.

Harvey said the bullying had been going on for around two years before his mother found out.

“My life was all over the place,” Harvey said.

“It was a certain group of people.

“They would always come up to me and tell me to kill myself.

Then in April 2022, Harvey was attacked in the playground, when he said he was punched in the face and had water poured over him.

Adele reported the incident to Devon and Cornwall Police the next day and demanded a meeting with the school.

“They assured me that the bullies would be dealt with and that safety measures would be put in place for him,” she said.

She claimed the school had promised to let Harvey study in a separate office, but that halfway through the day he was sent to lessons.

Harvey wrote two letters, one describing his ordeal over the past two years and the other expressing his disappointment in the school system, both of which Adele presented to the school.

“They kept saying they’ve got guidelines and legislation they have to follow, which I understand is not the school’s fault,” she said.

“But I just thought this isn’t good enough, I could see how it was affecting Harvey, so I spoke to the education authority and signed up to do home-schooling.”

Emails seen by PA Real Life confirm one of the culprits was handed a three-day external suspension but was allowed back into the classroom, according to Adele, who became increasingly concerned for Harvey’s physical and mental health.

“He is at risk of his retinas tearing naturally without someone hitting him.

“Every three months he’s having his glasses changed.

“It’s not just the myopia (short-sightedness), he’s got congenital stationary night blindness and lots of other problems (with his eyes)”.

Harvey added: “I’ve never had proper clear vision even with the prescription changes because my eyes change so frequently.”

Harvey left school in June, 2022.

Adele signed Harvey up to personal training sessions at the gym in a bid to rebuild his confidence and encouraged him to meet with a support officer.

In October 2022 he received a “buddy dog” called Alfie, a two-year-old golden Labrador, from the charity Guide Dogs, which now follows him everywhere and has helped him regain the confidence he needed to go back to school.

“I just feel less alone,” he said.

Harvey is now in his final year at South Devon College and said he one day hopes to work with reptiles and do a piercing and tattoo course.

Asked what advice he would give other young boys who are being bullied at school, he said: “Just don’t tolerate it.

“Talk to an adult or someone that you trust in your family.”

“He faced two years (of bullying) without telling me and he kept going to school.

“And I’m really proud of the fact that he wrote those letters.”

St Cuthbert Mayne School had not responded to a request for comment from PA Real Life at the time of publication.

An inspection carried out by Ofsted on 22 March 2023 found the school, which has more than 1,000 pupils, “requires improvements”, in particular when it comes to the “quality of education” and “behaviour and attitudes”.

Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed to PA Real Life that a report of assault was received which was dealt with by Community Resolution – a procedure used to describe the resolution of a minor offence or anti-social behaviour incident through informal agreement between the parties involved, as opposed to progression through the traditional criminal justice process, according to the guidance for Police and Youth Offending Services.

Guide Dogs’ buddy dogs service brings a canine friend into the lives of children with sight loss.

Buddy dogs are not used for sighted assistance like guide dogs but by helping children with a vision impairment develop their self-confidence, build friendships and a greater sense of trust, these dogs can have a hugely positive effect on a child and their family’s wellbeing.