Mary Carle decided to speak out after 15 year-old Shalaine was subjected to a vicious attack by a fellow pupil in a class at a town high school. The assault by the boy happened just hours after Shalaine, Forres Drive, had returned for the first day back after the summer holidays.

But her distraught Mum believes the bullying began as soon as Shalaine started high school.

Mary said it had mostly been conducted by a group of girls, although others had sometimes been involved.

During the past two years, bright Shalaine - who has suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - has allegedly suffered a catalogue of incidents including:
q A boy urinating in a bottle and pouring it over her head.
q Her lunch being spat on, so that she was unable to eat it.
q Being pulled down a flight of stairs by her schoolbag.
q Being regularly spat on, punched and kicked.

In the most serious incidents prior to last Wednesday, Mary said Shalaine was beaten up in a cubicle as she was getting changed for a swimming lesson and suffered another assault in a classroom full of senior pupils - despite teachers being present.

But last week's incident was the most horrific.

Mary added: "She had got to English about 11.50 p.m. and the boy laid in about her until teachers ran in and grabbed him off her.
"It started off with name calling and she had told him where to go and to leave her alone and he flipped out."

Although Shalaine was sent to first aid for an ice pack after being punched in the side of the head, she decided to go home.
"She staggered up the road here, threw up and collapsed," Mary went on.
"I 'phoned the doctor and he told me to get an ambulance.

"She was taken to hospital and they found she had severe concussion."

Mary is unhappy that the school did not contact her about what had happened - and with their general handling of the bullying. She said: "The way I see it, they were blaming her ADHD.

"They are willing to keep the bullies in school until it's time for them to leave, but they don't want to do anything for someone who wants to learn."

The bullying has taken a severe toll on mother and daughter, with Shalaine becoming withdrawn, not going out and even self-harming.
Mary said: "I asked her why she did it and she said 'when they hit me it really hurts, but this is a different type of pain'.

Fife Council education chief, Bryan Kirkaldy, commented: "When there are incidents of bullying in our schools we take them very seriously and they are dealt with swiftly and appropriately.

"In this particular case the school is providing ongoing support for this pupil. An incident that took place last week has also been fully investigated by the school. It would be inappropriate to comment any further as this incident is also the subject of a police investigation."
A police spokesman said they were investigating last Wednesday's incident.