I get on the train every day with kids from this school and I said as soon as I heard about this it would be someone from school .
It boils down to the history of the place and how kids have been brought up. This is not a reflection of the Birchwood community as a whole, alot of residents are caring people.
Birchwood is a very isolating place for most who live there. Its a massive 'new town' estate with a large area of deprived housing, built in the 70s. Its purely surrounded by motorways and woodland. Bus services are shocking and expensive. A walk to the next area is out the question.
When Birchwood was designed to be a 'utopia', no thought was put into employment opportunities, amenities or enjoyment, despite it being isolated from everywhere else. Quite frankly, it's depressing.
There's a shopping centre full of pound shops.
No swimming facilities, no cinemas etc. This was literally built as its own 'small town', yet nobody thought of the social aspect. The houses are all in 'closes' with communal parking. Alot of people in the area still don't drive and there's approx 50% unemployment rate, parents feel the pinch and it has become this vicious circle for many. At a young age, kids start to feel institutionalised. (A chippy finally opened a few years back and even that is a 30 minute walk through the estate from where I lived).
Yours housing even ripped out all the playgrounds from the closes to increase parking.
There is literally nothing from a young age and so kids roam the estate and surrounding woodlands out of boredom. Literal boredom.
Birchwood high has always struggled with discipline. A few years ago, people on the community page was complaining about bullying and then there was general naughtiness that kids were setting off fire alarms 3/4 times a day during GCSE season. Diversity/difference isn't a thing in Birchwood...most kids just want to fit in. I got sent to a different school to avoid the bullying culture, as it goes it was the reason that I was bullied. Kids saw a different uniform as being different.
Although the kids can be little shits, I would never have imagined this. Neither can the rest of the Birchwood community, who have really come together.
I just hope that in light of this crime, the school become more focused on targeting bullies and discipline and for the likes of you and my dear mum, they can get a bus/train without feeling intimidated.