Battling bullying with Aggregate Industries and Leicester Tigers

8 Nov 2017

Aggregate Industries has partnered with Premiership rugby side Leicester Tigers in a major anti-bullying campaign ahead of this year’s Anti-Bullying Week, taking place from 13-17 November.

With strong commitments to the local community, the Leicestershire-based company’s ‘Give Bullying the Boot’ campaign is part of the Concrete Rugby initiative between the two bodies.

This scheme champions team work, a healthy lifestyle and self-confidence in young people, through the introduction of rugby skills. The programme will reach out to over 1,000 Leicestershire students aged between 11 and 14 throughout the 2017/18 academic year.

During Anti-Bullying Week, representatives from the Leicester Tigers will be paying visits to numerous schools across the county to talk about bullying prevention, educating pupils on warning signs and what they should do if they experience bullying in any way.

Pupils will also be invited to share videos on social media, using the hashtag #givebullyingtheboot, with their opinion on why bullying is wrong and why we should all try to stop it. Staff from Aggregate Industries and Leicester Tigers stars will also be sharing their thoughts on video.

The week will draw to a close with the most active and engaged school will win the chance to train with the Leicester Tigers at the club’s Scout’s Day, ahead of their fixture versus the Worcester Warriors on 25th November.

The event comes with added importance following new research conducted at Leicestershire schools in October this year by the two organisations that reveals 53% of school children in the county have suffered some form of bullying.

François Petry, CEO of at Aggregate Industries, says: “The impact of bullying cannot be underestimated; which is why the results from our survey makes for worrying reading.

“We hope our Give Bullying the Boot campaign will educate people on the signs of bullying and raise awareness, which we hope will encourage people to speak up.

“This initiative is complementing our Concrete Rugby programme which is already teaching children on the importance of staying active and having a healthy lifestyle.”

Chris Rose, Head of Brand at Leicester Tigers, commented: “It’s always sad to see that so many young adults have experienced bullying in one form or another, but we are really pleased to be able to address this issue at Leicestershire schools with Aggregate Industries’ “Give Bullying the Boot” programme.

“By giving pupils the opportunity to talk about their experiences and learn some important messages about the best ways to tackle bullying, we hope to be able to bring a fresh perspective to a difficult subject.

“We’d like to pass on our thanks to the Aggregate Industries team for their ongoing support in this important local endeavour.”

Visit the Aggregate Industries website