George Stephenson High School

Bullied all the way through

I have been to this school for quite a while and i'll be honest it isn't the worse but could improve by a lot. First off bullying isn't handled very well at all and some of the teachers only do part of their job. For example i was in a lesson and someone i sat next to (he moved class' now) made an inappropriate joke about me my teacher stood there and did nothing. However around 90% of teachers are really nice and helpful. The lunch queues for lunch also suck as you spend more time waiting then eating and people push in. Today i was 3rd in the line then people pushes in and i was 11th. They also have a one way system in only a few buildings which i don't get and it makes you late. For example in drama there is a corridor which takes you to lunch but no you need to take a detour just to get to the lunch corridor and by then you have around 15 minutes to eat and be in the queue and 10 minutes of that is in the queue.I also think homework isn't equal me and one of my friends have different science teachers. I get a load of homework and my friend only gets told to revise. Older students also try steal your stuff in year 7 and as someone who is now in later years i feel bad for the poor kids that come. If you read this i wouldn't recommend it if your child is claustrophobic and doesn't like getting yelled at for doing nothing. One time i was in a lesson and i was sitting next to someone and they got yelled at for talking while we were sitting in silence. Also for lunch they sometimes don't make enough food and i was in a 15 minute queue and had to get a cookie because the lines were long and we had 5 minutes. Also in PE the boys get a bigger gym and the girls can't even go in it when they aren't even there and we get the considerably smaller gym.

I am a student that has been attending this school long enough to know that it isn't great. The corridors are always flooded which can be disruptive for other lessons going on. Also you only have 20 minutes to eat, which sounds ok. But no, the queues are horrific. It takes me about 12 minutes to get my food as the lines are long and people always barge in. However, a few teachers can be very kind. For example, a teacher of mine ( Mr Scott, an english/ media teacher ) changed a seating plan because I wasn't happy with it. I think the kind teachers are the only reason the school gets over 1 star, and they're why I gave it 2 stars.

There is little to no "education" to be found in a school that doesn't put their students first - claiming it and actually doing it are two different things. I learned nothing in my maths class due to misbehaviour in the classroom and poor handling of my peers. Physical, verbal and cyberbullying all took place here on and off school grounds. There was a creeping feeling of unease whenever it was break time because everyone knew that something bad was likely to happen. A student (won't name for obvious reason) ended up taking their own life due to bullying. Many people that attend here - myself included - experience thoughts of not wanting to be here. Some of the teachers were good whilst others just weren't. Had a firm but fair History teacher, always willing to help and tell a story or two but then I had teachers who would punish me for the smallest things such as: misunderstanding an assignment, using the wrong colour of pen despite BEING COLOURBLIND, and also another whom gave me and a few other students for being two seconds late. The mental health treatment is decent but not great, I think that is due to the school only having 2 family Liaison workers that can only work with 6 students per day in a school with over 1000 students. The teachers of classes themselves should be made aware of students who are struggling mentally. Bullying is by far the worst thing in the school and they can have anti-bullying campaigns, stick up posters and give them a "talking to." but that isn't really doing anything. Students who are bullies, the names that persistently come up in complaints from students, parents and teachers alike should be placed in a classroom environment with strict teacher that can get them to pay attention but won't do anything to anger or bore them which is different from the dehumanisation of "time out." There is no education to be found in "time out" and the same can be said for the rest of the school. Really, it all depends on your teacher and who you share a class with. Teachers should be picking out the most disruptive students and considering them as special needs and teaching the disruptive students separately from the others. Students shouldn't be forced to sit boy - girl - boy - girl as this can easily cause discomfort. At least allow them to sit next to one of their friends, that way there isn't any discomfort among them. This will allow for less distracted and more comfortable learning and teachers need to learn to let the little things slide: who cares if a student isn't wearing a tie? Using a pencil instead of pen? If they've forgotten a pen, give them one. If they aren't wearing their tye, let it slide. Students tend to rush out of the house to get to school just be glad they came, that shows they have some level of care for their education and forgetting your tye , PE kit or wearing the wrong shoes isn't something to be punished. This school could easily turn around. We've spent a long time listening to teachers. Isn't it time, you listen to students? Maybe we can't agree on everything and I understand that but we can find something that works.

Reading the reviews of this school, the one great concern that jumps out and is a common theme in every review, is the complete disregard for the mental health and well-being of children. How is a school allowed to continue this way? All I can surmise is that whoever is the head of school and whoever the governors are don’t believe in mental health and don’t care about children. A school I will not be recommending to parents.

You should be able to give this school 0 stars. We have seen absolutely no care or concern from any member of staff, either junior or senior leadership team regarding my child’s mental health. He has had a diagnosis very recently, and as a child is struggling to come to terms with the huge impact this will have on the rest of his life. Not one member of that school has contacted us to ask how he is coping. When we pointed hour to them how extremely worried we are, all we’ve heard about is school uniform and school rules. Yes, they will abide by the letter of the law, but caring and understanding is not their remit. According to the government, child mental health is a huge concern, but obviously GSHS does not answer to a higher authority. A child in extreme pain is of no concern to this school, although very bright, he may not bring them the accolade of good GCSE results. Let them not be concerned with the health and well-being of one child. From One very disgusted family.

Terrible. I am a student here and I do not recommend this school.

I’ve been going to this school for 5 years (I’m in year 11 now) and honestly it’s not the best. I’ve had some great teachers but the learning environment can be horrible at times. I’ve been bullied throughout most of my high school experience and the most my bullies ever got was a warning so use this info how you want

The school have a one way system in place during the pandemic however it does result in being late for lessons. They have separate starting times, break times, lunch times and finishing times for each year group however this can be disruptive to lessons.

Absolute joke. More interested in uniform than bullying or learning. No one cares about corona

If I could give 0stars I would, care more about uniform and attendance then kids mental health and learning

I am currently a student at this school since year 7, I think it is okay, i guess, it has lgbtq+ centers and handles people with learning disabilities well, but the only problem I have is with the bullying.