Bullies set fire to student with dyslexia in New Zealand

From Wairarapa Times-Age in New Zealand:

A Featherston mother has pulled her dyslexic son out of college after classmates set him alight and laughed as he burned.

Wendy, who declined to give her full name to protect the elder of her two sons, said she and her husband are July 2 refusing to let the 14-year-old boy return to Makoura College after a group of fellow pupils doused his arm in aerosol deodorant and set him on fire on Monday afternoon.

She said her son, who has a congenital heart condition and is dyslexic, was recovering at home July 1 with a mass of blisters on his forearm and has fallen silent about the incident since making a statement to police, who have also taken photographs of his injuries.

"He'd asked one of his so-called friends for a bit of deodorant and while one boy restrained him, another sprayed his arm until it was dripping wet and set him alight.

"They stood around laughing while he screamed. He tried to put the fire out with his other hand but it relit, so he rolled on the wet grass until it went out."

The boy escaped to a nearby toilet and ran cold water over his burns and the injuries were only discovered when a teacher heard pupils laughing and joking about the incident, his mother said.

"At first he told them he did it to himself because he didn't want anyone to get in trouble. We were called and told he was safe and they treated his burns at the school."

She said her son, an avid chess player and science nut, was this year enrolled at Makoura College, which has about 240 pupils, as the dairy farming couple felt it was a smooth transition from his life attending small rural schools "and because they have the teachers" who are able to work with his dyslexia.

"I can't trust that he's safe at that school now, even though it's a really good school. What they have to offer are the reasons we sent him there, but what happened is disgusting," she said.

"His aunt wants him to go to Australia and I don't want him back there until those kids that did this to him are gone," she said.

"He used to get picked on ages ago because of his heart - it speeds up and won't slow down.

"He's a gentle boy who's either tormented because he stands back quietly or he makes a target of himself because he'll say something if he sees bullying.

"But not one of those kids helped him on Monday. There were four of them and they were supposed to be his friends. He wouldn't admit he'd cried but he's a 14-year-old boy and who wouldn't?"

Makoura College principal Tom Hullena said the school is investigating the incident, which could lead to stand-downs or suspensions depending on a "restorative" meeting between the alleged attackers, the boy, and his parents; and the sequence and severity of events.

"There's been a spate of incidents lately where junior boys have been spraying themselves with Lynx (deodorant) and setting it alight.

"We need to establish exactly what happened on Monday and go from there."

Mr Hullena said the college has a definitive policy on bullying and ensuring pupil safety that hinges on a philosophy of restorative justice and the use of punishment to encourage "change and rebalancing".

Masterton police Acting Senior Sergeant Carolyn Watson said police have also launched an investigation into the incident.