Boy excluded from Newent Community School after abusing teacher on Twitter

VILE tweets about a teacher saw a teenage boy excluded from school and get a warning from police.

Officers were called in to Newent Community School after the pupil posted sexually abusive messages on the social networking website.

Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed the boy, who The Citizen cannot identify for legal reasons, has been given an Anti Social Behaviour Warning and the school confirmed he's been excluded and won't be taught by the same teacher.

Headteacher Jane Steele said the school does a lot of work from Key Stage 3 onwards to understand social media, and students were upset by the incident.

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"The student was excluded for what happened and we found out there had been further discussion of the issue on Twitter, so following a meeting with myself and a parent, we decided to involve the police and there was a further exclusion," she said.

"The parents have been very, very supportive. The boy has made a mistake and realises that. Unfortunately, years ago it would have been something written on the toilet door – nowadays it's online and responsibility must be taken for that. The boy himself I don't think actually meant to cause the offence he did but he has to be accountable for his actions.

"He will come back and have normal lessons and we will support him to do his best at school – that is what we are about."

Police visited the school to get copies of the offensive tweets but the boy's mobile phone and computer were not seized. Both his Twitter account appears to have been suspended.

"His parents were shocked and they understand why we are taking this course of action," said a police spokesman. "Abusive tweets were directed towards one teacher.

"A complaint was made by a teacher and the school has been fully co-operative with us. A letter has also been sent to his parents, warning them about his behaviour.

"We visited his parents and the victim, who is happy with the course of action we have taken."

The Anti Social Behaviour Warning was made over the weekend, and the boy was suspended from school.

If he continues to offend, he could be given an Anti Social Behaviour Contract to sign, one level below an Anti Social Behaviour Order.

A survey on www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk about social media activity showed more than a third of people with Twitter accounts used them at school and had suffered abuse.

Of those who filled in the survey:

■ 36 per cent said they used Twitter during school time.

■ 35 per cent said they had been abused on Twitter.

■ 15 per cent of respondents said they had been bullied on the social media network.

■ 47 per cent of people said they had been exposed to pornography on Twitter.