The Boy in the Photograph: Anti-Bullying Talk with Robert Higgs
Thursday 13 January 2022
Year 7 and 8 enjoyed a thought-provoking and inspiring talk by Rob Higgs, actor, author and anti-bullying speaker on Thursday 13 January.
Rob’s presentation began with a powerful performance of a monologue about his own experience of being bullied at school in Year 9. He brought the situation vividly to life with great physicality and genuine humour.
He proceeded to offer methods for disarming aggression - whether verbal or physical. His mnemonic ‘STOP’ (‘several times on purpose’) was a particularly useful way of identifying intimidating behaviour. With the aid of clips from TV comedy, he also demonstrated how ‘banter’ can easily descend into bullying.
Rob invited two brave volunteers, Cliona and Grace from Year 8, onto the stage to take part in some stand-up comedy exercises. These really helped to build strategies for dealing creatively and wittily with negativity.
