Tormented teacher beat pupil, screaming 'die die die'

Peter Harvey is accused of battering the 14-year-old boy as he attempted to regain control of his unruly class, who were in a state of "uproar" and were secretly filming him.

A jury heard that there was "blood everywhere" after the attack at All Saints Roman Catholic School in Mansfield, which left the boy unconscious with a fractured skull and cuts.

Harvey, who is on trial for attempted murder, had only been back at the school for three months since being told to take time off after he admitted to having thoughts of harming someone.

The 50-year-old teacher had been off work for four months, but was allowed to return when a therapist said he was too "peaceful and passive" and needed to be better at letting out his anger, Nottingham Crown Court was told.

The jury heard that, moments before the attack on July 8 last year, Harvey's victim had been playing volleyball with screwed-up bits of paper and sword-fighting with metre-long rulers in a game of "high jinks".

Harvey, deemed a "soft touch" by students, had lost control of the class, and pupils had called him a "psycho" after he threw out a 14-year-old girl for messing about with window blinds.

The court heard that Harvey was being secretly filmed by one of the pupils, and in a video he could be heard shouting at his victim to stop fighting with the wooden ruler.

Stuart Rafferty QC, prosecuting, said the situation escalated to the point where Harvey was chasing the boy around the classroom, and the pupil then shouted an insult which "seems to have lit the blue touch paper".

"Mr Harvey grabbed him by his collar and started dragging him out of the classroom," Mr Rafferty said. "He did not meet much resistance from the boy.

"He got him out of the classroom and down the corridor into a preparation room. He threw him to the ground and armed himself with a 3kg dumbbell and began to hit the boy about the head with it.

"He struck at least two blows to the head which caused serious injury, really serious injury.

"At the time the blows were being struck Mr Harvey was only heard to say one thing. What he was saying was 'die, die, die'."

Mr Rafferty added: "No one can say for one minute what happened to this boy was deserved or justified."

Describing the attack to police, Harvey said that he felt like he was watching himself on television. He said he felt no emotion and "couldn't think at all".

A 15-year-old girl who saw the assault told officers: "He grabbed a weight and hit him on the head constantly. He didn't stop and blood was everywhere."

"Everyone was screaming and then two people went and got teachers."

The jury was told that Harvey had taught at the school for 16 years, but had a history of mental health problems. He could often be heard talking to himself and could be aggressive towards students.

In addition to the four-month break he was ordered to take, Harvey had a spell off work when a pupil threatened him at his home after he stuck up for a female colleague who had been pushed into a bush.

Harvey has admitted causing grievous bodily harm without intent, but prosecutors seek an attempted murder conviction.

The trial continues.