About Us
About Bullying
No-one has to put up with bullying. Bullying makes you feel miserable, sad, angry and worthless.
Adults and young people who are bullied blame themselves, sometimes hurt themselves, are afraid to go to work or school or appear in public places.
One of the worst things that happens to people who are bullied is that they think it is their fault. It is not! But feeling it is your fault often prevents you from telling anyone about what is going on. Sometimes people keep quiet about it for weeks and even months.
About The Red Balloon Learner Centers
The first Red Balloon Learner Centre was set up in a private home in Cambridge in 1996. The vision is to provide an 'intensive care' programme of full-time education in a safe learning environment for children unable to go to school because they have been severely bullied.
Why call it Red Balloon
Why was it caalled "Red Balloon"? The boy in the film "Le Ballon Rouge" was befriended and supported by a red balloon. Have a look at the film here.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hd2EXFVi-w&feature=related
About The Red Balloon Web Site
On this website you will find a number of interesting things about bullying and about what can be done to help. Whether you are young or old, a student or a worker, we hope there will be useful information for you. If you are a survivor of bullying, you may want to help us. You will find information about that too.
The Red Balloon Learner Centre offers a safe learning environment for students of secondary-age in Cambridge, Norwich and Northwest London at Harrow. Some of our students have written their stories for you to read. You may have had similar experiences. You may need some advice and support. In the pages below we offer some ideas to help you deal with the bullying yourself. We also try to explain to people close to you how bullying behaviour may affect you.
At the Red Balloon we can restore self-confidence and self-esteem, the capacity to trust others and the ability to learn.
"Coming to the Red Balloon was the best thing that's happened to me. When I stopped going to school and before I came to the Red Balloon I always thought I was a loser, a no hoper, but thanks to the teachers I now believe I have something worth living for."
A former pupil