The mother of an 11-year-old boy said he had been left with concussion and is too scared to return to school
Police are investigating an alleged assault on a pupil at a school in Rhondda Cynon Taf. South Wales Police confirmed the alleged incident at Y Pant Comprehensive in Talbot Green was reported to them and inquiries are ongoing.
Bethan Evans said her 11-year-old son Charlie Gundy was left needing hospital treatment for concussion after he was assaulted and kicked in the head by a group of older boys at Y Pant School site on September 23.
Charlie started at the school as a new year seven at the start of term and was enjoying it. Bethan said he was now so traumatised he had refused to go back. His phone was also smashed in the incident, she claimed. This week the Welsh Government responded to calls from teachers for a blanket ban on mobile phones in schools.
A spokesman for Y Pant Comprehensive said: “On September 23 an incident was reported to staff by a pupil that personal possessions had been thrown over a wall and damage caused to a phone.
“The pupil’s family visited the school on September 24 to inform us that an assault had also allegedly taken place during the incident and they had contacted South Wales Police relating to this.
“As a result pupils involved have been sanctioned in accordance with the school behaviour policy.” Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.
Bethan said her son told her when he got home that he had been attacked by a group of older boys at lunchtime at school. He told her they had thrown his bag over a fence, smashing his phone.
When he crawled under the fence to retrieve his bag the attackers kicked his head and filmed the assault on their phones. He had been sick in the last lesson of the day, she said.
“The state he was in – he was in complete shock. His face was swollen,” said single mother Bethan.
“I called the NHS and took him to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. He was diagnosed with concussion and had X-rays.
“He has not gone back to school since. He won’t leave the house. He is having nightmares.
“He was looking forward to high school. He was loving it. This has completely knocked him.”
Bethan said she reported the incident to the school and her son had also spoken to a teacher immediately after the alleged assault.
A South Wales Police spokesman said: “South Wales Police was called just before 6.20pm on Tuesday, September 23, with a report that a pupil at Y Pant Comprehensive had been assaulted. Inquiries are ongoing.”
