A TEENAGER suffered internal bruising during an attack by six fellow pupils at a Worcestershire high school.

Scott Carter has admitted he had arranged to fight one of the pupils at The Chantry High School in Martley, but told his parents he was unfairly set upon by the gang.

His parents Yvonne and Glenn, of Holt Heath, near Worcester, have criticised the school for not keeping them informed about the investigation following the attack.

The headteacher, Caroline Browne, said the school took violence very seriously and had since temporarily excluded the pupils involved.

Mrs Carter said she rushed to the school when she heard her son had suffered a bump to his head during the attack, which was witnessed by his 14-year-old sister Natalie on Thursday, March 9.

"He was on the floor with a bandage around his head," said the 40-year-old.

"His shirt had footprints and blood on it, from where they had been kicking him while he was on the floor.

"Don't get me wrong, he's

no angel, but nobody deserves this. If they had kicked him

in the wrong place he could have died."

School staff intervened and Scott was taken by ambulance to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital, where doctors examined him and diagnosed internal bruising.

The Carters say the school discussed the attack with them the next day, but they had not heard from Ms Browne for almost two weeks and a telephone call to her had not been returned.

Ms Browne has apologised for not returning their call but said the message was not passed on.

She said the boys were excluded from school for several days. She added: "One of the lads is no longer going to be at the school, because of his record and the fact that he thought it was OK to kick someone on the ground, which is totally unacceptable."

"If we see any behaviour, however slight, that could escalate into anti-social behaviour when they are adults, then we treat it really seriously."

She said the incident had been explained to parents in a newsletter and to other pupils, to ensure they understood how serious the repercussions could have been.

A police spokesman said the matter had been investigated, but no criminal action taken.