A BRIGHT pupil at a Swindon school says he has grown so fed up with being bullied that he has been skipping lessons for most of this academic year.

Simon Reed hides in the bushes in the grounds of Churchfields School until his lessons are over to avoid the the "taunts and teasing" of his classmates.

And despite the efforts of his school and the Local Education Authority to get to the root of the problem, there seems to be no obvious end to the misery for the 12-year-old.

His mum, Fiona, fears Simon's education is beginning to suffer and has pleaded for the culprits to leave her son alone. She believes he is being picked out because he works hard in lessons and is keen to learn.

Simon, from Wallsworth Road, Park South, also suffers from a skin disorder which affects the pigment in his skin, and Fiona thinks that is another reason why he is bullied.

She says the bullying has varied from verbal abuse to being beaten up and repeatedly hit with bags.

On Monday, a meeting was held between Simon, Fiona and Lynn Dunford, the school's headteacher.

LEA spokesman Andrew Bennett said: "We have established guidelines covering any situation of bullying and there are vigorous measures we can take.

"Once drawn to our attention we move as rapidly as we can to resolve the issues in the best interests of the child and school. In this instance, we are in touch with the family and are doing our best to resolve the situation."