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A 12-year-old boy living with autism and asperger's syndrome has not been to school for several months due to bullying, his mum has said.

She claims he missed classes after being beaten by a group of kids at school every day for nearly three months.

When Harrison Fernandez turned up for his first day at secondary school at Colchester Academy on September 3, he was already nervous.

But it wasn't even a few hours into the day before Harrison was already being picked on, with students saying he 'walked gay', 'talked gay' and 'looked gay', mum Leanne states.

By day two, things allegedly turned physical, with students knocking and pushing him around, which quickly escalated over the following weeks, leaving him with a bruised and swollen face, ripped clothes and bloodied knees.

His mum says he would come home regularly crying and because of his autism it led to him self-harming where he couldn't understand why he was being bullied.

She says that four incidents were so severe that the 34-year-old had to get police involved.

It was on the fourth occasion that she called the police on November 21 that she decided he was 'no longer safe to go into school' and pulled him out.

She made the decision alongside a doctor's note which stated it would be 'detrimental' for him to remain at the school.

"We are going to stamp on your skull"

Harrison just wanted to start the secondary experience, make friends and learn. But his mother says that from day one, things took a nasty turn.

"Obviously it all started off verbally with them saying he was gay, he walked gay, he looked gay, he talked gay," Leanne said.

"But on the second day, it escalated to physical. They tried 'peanut-ing' the tie and it came off and they started pushing him and it continued out of school.

"He has had orange juice poured down the back of his neck, food taken away from him, had three of them pushing him at one time."

She explained that every single day, Harrison would come home upset, hurt by something else that had happened.

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There is a group of boys which Leanne claims regularly targeted Harrison on a daily basis, including waiting to catch him in between classes and "punch him in the groin".

Leanne says the children made threats: "One child threatened him when he saw him and said 'we are looking for you and said 'we are going to stamp on your skull'. That's not a normal thing for a 12-year-old to say.

"It is really upsetting for him. He had just started school and he is asking 'why they have they got a problem with me?'

"When you go in to school every single day and a number of them are going up to him between classes punching him in the groin. It's awful."

"He's been beaten to a pulp"

Leanne first contacted police on September 5, telling them that on the third day of year seven he was physically hurt.

She called officers again on September 11, and told them he was beaten by another child.

They were called again for a third incident on September 26 when Leanne had picked him up from school.

She was a little late and asked him to meet her in the car park, just outside the school.

She said: "I pulled up in the car park and I said come out of reception to the car and he said yes. While I was waiting for him, they beat him up. They had waited outside reception for him.

"I'm sat thinking he's waiting in reception but actually he's getting beaten up."

Leanne said the school had given Harrison early passes so he could leave class and school early.

The aim, she said, was that he could try and avoid bullies travelling to other classes, or them catching him at the end of the day.

He would also be sent to the sensory room or the library at break times or lunch times, in the hope to keep him away from the bullies.

"He was even being told to go there break and lunch times so they didn't hurt him," she said.

"He had to go classes five minutes earlier than the others so that he could get there before them or they would punch him in the groin.

"He would come home and cry and say it's too much to handle. He just wants to go to school. He's been beaten to a pulp."

"Mum, they've really hurt me, I'm scared"

Harrison retaliated to the bullies and punched back after everything became too much.

She claims: "Harrison punched back once because he had had enough. But he never stuck up for himself again because he didn't want to get in trouble and then it was worse because he was just getting pure beaten."

But the final straw was on November 21, she called police for a final time and decided Harrison was no longer safe to go into school.

"He was going to the library or sensory room to eat his lunch and as he went down the stairwell and there were five of them waiting for him," she stated.

"One boy rushed up to him put him in a head lock so he was facing down and kept punching him."

"He then went crying and rushed to the toilet. They kept him in the toilet and he said a teacher was standing guard of it.

"They didn't get the boys and take them to a room. Why didn't they take him to the medical bay?"

Even though pupils aren't allowed phones at school, Leanne had given Harrison one in case he got hurt again.

She says from inside the toilet, he texted her a picture of his face already swollen.

He messaged her, 'Mum they've really hurt me, I'm scared.'

Leanne, who works as a child minder, says she had to pack up her and the kids as quickly as possible and contact their parents to tell them she was going to get her son.

"He just wants some friends"

The effect everything has had on Harrison has been huge.

"There's been so many failings, it's ridiculous. I said no more, he couldn't be there without harm," the mum claimed.

"He has a doctor's note to say it's detrimental effect to be in school. Because of his needs, like his OCD, which is not flicking light switches it's his thoughts, he is a perfectionist and has severe anxiety so he takes it all out on himself.

"He self harms for not being perfect. He struggles with himself anyway, so with this he is coming home thinking he's in trouble, no one likes him and he's not good enough.

"He just wants some friends. Children with autism struggle with social things anyway and feel isolated so to not go to school and be at home with me alone all day is not good. He only gets two hours of learning."

"Where's his right to an education?"

Since he came out of the school on November 21, Leanne has fought for him to get into another school.

He will be starting at The Philip Morant School next week.

Statement from Colchester Academy At the time of the initial report of the incident at Colchester Academy, Jenny Betts, Principal at Colchester Academy said: "I cannot comment on individual cases. However, keeping our students safe is our highest priority, which includes dealing swiftly with any incidents of alleged bullying. "We follow clear behavioural procedures and use any appropriate sanctions we have available."

A spokesperson for Essex Police said: "We received a number of reports reporting a boy had been assaulted.

"We carried out enquiries and spoke to parties involved. Words of advice have been given.

"The victim’s family decided they did not wish to go ahead with criminal proceedings and it was decided the investigation could not progress without the support of the victim so it has been filed."

The Philip Morant school in Colchester said they could not comment on the case.