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Tigers players to #GiveBullyingtheBoot

Leicester Tigers and Aggregate Industries have teamed up to launch a ‘Give Bullying the Boot’ campaign for schoolchildren across Leicester and Leicestershire.

Tigers players Dom Barrow, Matt Smith, Ben Betts and George Worth, plus staff at Aggregate Industries, have shown support during next week’s Anti-Bullying Week (November 13-17) by speaking about their experiences of bullying.

Part of the Concrete Rugby initiative, which has been introduced in 12 secondary schools across the region this school year, the two organisations will visit schools to provide talks about bullying prevention, educating pupils on the signs and what they should do if they or somebody they know is experiencing bullying.

Research carried out as part of the initiative found that more than half (53 per cent) of schoolchildren asked in Leicestershire say they have suffered some form of bullying, with two-thirds (69 per cent) of those experiencing bullying just in the last year.

Around a quarter of children have also received negative comments on their social media accounts (24 per cent), while 28 per cent feel there is pressure from social media to look or act in a certain way.

“It’s always sad to see that so many young adults have experienced bullying in one form or another, but we are really pleased to be able to address this issue at Leicestershire schools with Aggregate Industries’ Give Bullying the Boot programme.

Chris Rose, head of brand at Leicester Tigers

Chirs added:  “By giving pupils the opportunity to talk about their experiences and learn some important messages about the best ways to tackle bullying, we hope to be able to bring a fresh perspective to a difficult subject.   

“We’d like to pass on our thanks to the Aggregate Industries team for their ongoing support in this important local endeavour.”

François Petry, chief executive at Aggregate Industries, added: “The impact of bullying cannot be underestimated, which is why the results from our survey makes for worrying reading. We hope our Give Bullying the Boot campaign will educate people on the signs of bullying and raise awareness, which we hope will encourage people to speak up.”

Pupils are invited to share their videos on social media, using #givebullyingtheboot, with their opinion on why bullying is so wrong and why we all have a responsibility to stop it. 

Anti-Bullying Week will end with the most active and engaged school winning the opportunity to train with the Tigers at the club’s Scouts Day ahead of the Worcester Warriors fixture at Welford Road on November 25.

To find out more about how you can get involved with Give Bullying the Boot, click below.