School in move to give bullying the chop

IMPRESSED . . . Roger with Shannon

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A LEES school has teamed up with five times Taekwondo world champion Roger Lawrence on an anti-bullying project.

The initiative at Hey with Zion Primary starts in March and been funded with a £9,850 Lottery grant.

Roger, who also won seven European titles, will run anti-bullying sessions with every pupil in year three and above, which will look at how to handle different situations and include role play.

All pupils from year one will also have the opportunity to take part in after-school taekwondo sessions.

Head teacher Andrew Clowes said the project aimed to improve pupils' resilience and self-confidence, which will in turn help them to do better at school and in life.

He described it as a "coup" to be working with the former assistant England coach and explained: "At this school, and others, we are very good at promoting the attitude of doing the best for other people and being kind and helpful.

"But in terms of anti-bullying, I do not think enough is done about resilience and the reality of the situations our children will come across.

"This project will be very good for building the children's awareness and give them the self-confidence to make the right decisions. Hopefully with this self-confidence they will also engage better in every aspect of life whether it's education or social."

Roger is originally from Birmingham but now lives in Springhead and runs the Oldham GBTF Taekwondo Academy at Waterhead Academy.

He visited Hey with Zion to run a taster session, helped by year five pupil Shannon McKinley who he teaches.

Shannon (9) said the sport had improved her confidence, adding: "I became interested in taekwondo because I wanted to know how to defend myself and be more active. I like being taught by Roger because he always makes it fun."