Gervase Phinn: The cruelty of children

This wonderfully entertaining and informative speaker gave a fascinating insight into the lives of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and how they changed the public perception of those with red hair by their depiction of beautiful Titian-haired women like Lizzie Siddal. Sadly, public perception has not changed very much and

those with red or auburn hair still suffer mockery.

The mother who complained to Tesco about an offensive Christmas card showing a ginger-headed little boy sitting on Santa's knee with the caption: "Santa loves all kids. Even GINGER ones" had every right and I, too, complained when visiting my local store. Anyone with red hair knows only too well how hurtful are such taunts as "ginger nut" and "carrot top". I recall visiting a school and commenting on the beautiful auburn hair of a child. "I hate the colour," she told me. "People call me names."

There has always been this ingrained prejudice against those with ginger hair. It was thought that Judas had red hair and in Victorian times there were many superstitions surrounding people with hair of this colour. Some people would not board a ship if there was a red-headed person on board because he or she was thought be a jinx, and many mistresses would not employ servants with red hair, believing them to be deeply unlucky. Following an article I wrote for the Yorkshire Post about bullying, I received a number of letters. One, an immensely sad letter, spoke of the reader's unmerciful bullying at school because of his red hair and freckles.

Schools are places where children acquire much more than the principles, ideas and processes of a subject. They are formative little worlds where children develop their social skills, learn to get along with others, make friendships and sometimes enemies. In the good schools they learn about love, beauty, compassion, goodness, co-operation, care and other positive human emotions and feelings.

Children, however, even in the good schools, also learn the hard lessons of life; lessons about injustice, humiliation and cruelty and sometimes, if they are unlucky, they come across the bully. One can't expect children to be permanently pleasant with each other, but systematic cruelty in the form of constant bullying is a very different matter. Bullies seek out their victims, those who are likely to be in some way different. It might be skin colour, physical appearance, a disability, the colour of one's hair or the way one speaks. For me, it was my name that set me apart.

When I was a school inspector. I would ask children what they thought made a good school. The answer came back again and again: "No bullying."

In the coming weeks, Gervase Phinn will be doing book signings throughout Yorkshire for his new memoir Road to the Dales: The Story of a Yorkshire Lad. Michael Joseph, 18.99.