A mother brought her teenage daughter because she was being bullied by 2 boys at high school. They would wait at the gate for her every morning, grab her bag, empty its contents and throw them in random directions. The girl was distraught and the mother also and conversations with teachers, the principle made no difference. She was contemplating enrolling her in a private school to get her away from the conflict even though they could hardly afford it.

I informed the girl that boys of that age are very awkward with girls and often behave badly to cover up their awkwardness. I invited her to go to school the next day, walk up to the boys, empty her bag in front of them, pick up her pencil case and throw it as far as she could then challenge them to see if they could thrown things further. The boys stopped teasing her and became friends. The girl stayed at the school happily.