IT seems things haven't really changed that much since Tom Brown's Schooldays.

The classic tale by Thomas Arnold, published 150 years ago, reveals the brutal reality of life at a 19th Century public school, where masters left the pupils to their own devices and bullies had free hand to cook up such japes as roasting their victims over open fires.

You'd have thought a 21st century state school would be a slightly more civilised place.

Not so, according to Worcester mother Emma Sones.

In the story on today's front page, she claims her daughter was knocked out, strangled and even dangled from a six-story building by a bully who was then allowed to get away with, if not murder, then something that could easily have ended in tragedy.

Despite being arrested and convicted of serious offences, the boy was not expelled, but instead left the school at the wishes of his parents, says Mrs Sones.

The headmaster of the school in question, Blessed Edward Oldcorne in Timberdine Avenue, argues it followed official guidelines and deals with each case on its merits.

But the fact that such incidents are allowed to happen in the first place indicates that something is going very wrong in our schools.

Unlike in Tom Brown's day, at least there are teachers around.

But we need to make sure they're in the right place at the right time and that they're given the powers to deal with bullies effectively.

After 150 years, it really is time we got to grips with the bullies.