Oldham tops bully league of shame

OLDHAM has the highest bullying rate in Greater Manchester new figures reveal.

Nearly half of children questioned (47.8 per cent) said they had been targeted in or out of school.

And 15 per cent admitted frequently taking drugs or alcohol — with both figures among the highest in the North-West.

The statistics released yesterday are taken from the annual Tellus survey of years 6, 8 and 10 pupils carried out by the education watchdog Ofsted.

Across England, 48 per cent of pupils said they had been bullied and 10.9 per cent per cent admitted frequent substance misuse.

Shadow families minister Maria Miller said: “It’s very worrying that almost half of children have experienced bullying.

“We must take measures to end the broken society. That means strengthening families, more good schools with strong discipline and a zero-tolerance approach to crime.”

Oldham also has one of the lowest figures in Greater Manchester for young people taking part in activities such as sports, arts or youth groups — 64.6 per cent compared with 69.5 per cent nationally.

However, it ranked highly in the conurbation for satisfaction with parks and open spaces (44 per cent) while 63.5 per cent of the borough’s youngsters were reckoned to be happy.

Children’s Minister Beverley Hughes said: “The Tellus survey shows that the majority of children in England today feel happy, safe, enjoy life and are doing well at school.

“But we know there is still more to do and not every LA is doing as well as others.”