Bullying at school can affect a young person’s sense of confidence, and in turn have a negative impact on their friendships and sense of belonging. Supported by a trusted adult, Morgan used his experience at Jamie’s Farm to carve out his own sense of confidence and identity, on his own terms.
In this episode of the ‘Shift Happens’ podcast, Morgan reflects on his experiences of being bullied at school, struggling to make friends and finding the confidence to move forward. Today, Morgan has gone on to study software engineering for business at university, to help pursue his ambitions of working in IT, something he has always had a passion for.
How bullying at school can lead to isolation
Many young people who experience bullying often describe feeling alone, and Morgan’s words capture that clearly:
“I always felt like I was left out and still mostly do to this day. I was bullied from a young age and my friends were the only people I had there for me. They were the only people that I could talk to and get help from.”
A later diagnosis of autism and ADHD helped Morgan to understand why some social situations hadn’t always felt so natural to him.
“I’ve always found it hard to make friends…mostly now that I find out that I have autism and ADHD, that helped me a lot to realise why I had issues with all this stuff.”
Often, behaviour can be a leading sign that there is something much deeper going on under the surface. After experiencing bullying for several years, Morgan found himself mixing with the wrong crowd and struggling more at school.
How new environments can rebuild confidence
Morgan first arrived at Jamie’s Farm when he was around 13 years of age. At first, it felt unfamiliar and nerve-wracking, but with the help of the people around him and a new environment, that soon changed.
“It was completely different to what I was used to, I was very nervous…but then I started to get more and more out of my shell and started really enjoying myself and getting more excited about things while progressing throughout the week.”
Morgan spoke warmly about being around enthusiastic and caring adults who helped encourage him to be open to trying new things and develop new skills. Most importantly, the experience helped Morgan to reconnect with himself:
“It made me feel like myself a lot more…I was happy with the person that I was during the visit and just helped me a lot to change how I was at school and at home.”
The power of a trusted adult
Morgan’s story also helped to shine a light on how one supportive relationship can make a lasting difference on a young person. Alongside his growing confidence, Morgan had an adult who took time to encourage him and stay in his corner.
“I had one teacher…after Jamie’s Farm who assisted me a lot, basically took me under his wing. We did a lot of things together and it helped me a lot.”
A single trusted adult can play a transformative role in the life of a young person facing challenges, providing the stability, guidance, and belief they may not consistently experience elsewhere. Research shows that strong, supportive relationships are key to improving young people’s mental health, behaviour, and engagement in school.
When a young person knows there is one adult who listens without judgement, sets clear boundaries, and genuinely cares about their future, it builds confidence alongside a sense of belonging. This consistent connection can help break negative patterns, improve outcomes in education, and support long-term personal development, demonstrating that meaningful change often starts with just one trusted relationship.
Moving forward after bullying at school
As Morgan’s confidence grew, so did his ability to make his own choices. He stepped away from the friendships that were not helping him and holding him back, made new friends and pushed himself further academically.
“I needed to change for the better…I used everything I learned…to help me push myself out of that friend group and become more of myself.”
“So I started to do a lot better in school…I’ve made new friends…Everyone saw a massive change.”
Today, Morgan is thriving and working towards a career in software engineering. His story is not defined by his experiences of bullying at school, it is defined by the courage, self-belief and his determination to keep growing.
Listen to Morgan’s full story
Morgan’s journey offers hope to any young person facing bullying, exclusion and isolation, or low levels of confidence. We invite you to take some time to listen to this episode of ‘Shift Happens’ and see what helped Morgan overcome these challenges.
Listen to Morgan’s full episode of his experiences of bullying at school here.
