The father of a 13-year-old boy has said his son is "petrified" to leave the house and go to school, after being harassed for a year, and threatened with a knife.

Nick Moore's son, who attends Ipswich Academy, has been bullied for around a year.

The concerned dad said it all started with name-calling, which progressed to hitting, beating, and threats written on bathroom stalls at the school, before more recently being verbally threatened with a knife.

This, he says, has led to the boy not leaving his house over the summer holidays unless with his dad.

The teenager has missed the first day of the new school year out of fear of what might happen.

Mr Moore said: "It breaks my heart.

"He is really struggling because of this, and it is making me struggle.

"He has cried to me, begging to not let anything happen to him, asking me to walk him to school and pick him up from school and be there straight after.

"I remember when he first started high school, he was so optimistic about it. He was happy and excited.

"Now it has just turned into a nightmare."

Back in October 2022, three kitchen knives and a Stanley knife were found near the grounds of Ipswich Academy.

He has contacted the school and informed them of this incident, but has said he has not heard anything back.

Mr Moore said: "I called them the day they went back for teacher training to see if they would do anything about it, and I was promised a phone call from the headteacher, but I haven't received anything from them.

"I knew they would call me because I didn't send my son to school, I feel they're more concerned about that than with the safeguarding of my child.

"The school will not do anything unless my son becomes another statistic, then they will be all over it, but they haven't done anything so far.

"It's gone way too far. The attitude of people at the school is awful, they don't seem to care."

Mr Moore has said the school did suggest something last term, whereby his son arrives half an hour late and leaves half an hour early every day.

He said: "How ridiculous is that?

"I don't see why my son has to be the one to miss out on education because of something he isn't doing."

A statement from Ipswich Academy says: "At Ipswich Academy, the safety and well-being of our students is our primary concern.

"The school has a very clear behaviour policy which includes a zero-tolerance approach to bullying.

"We thoroughly investigate any allegations of this kind, support students that may have been affected and work closely with the police and other external agencies where required."

The police have been made aware of this situation.

They said: "Police in Ipswich have received a report of a teenage boy being harassed by a group of teenage boys known to him.

"Enquiries are continuing into the circumstances and police are liaising directly with the school and families.

"No weapons have been seen.

"Suffolk Police is committed to the reduction of knife crime, and continues to work closely with partners and schools to achieve this by taking a proactive, preventative approach to raise awareness and reduce offending.

"Police officers regularly visit schools in Suffolk to engage with children, highlighting the dangers to young people of carrying knives."

Mr Moore is now formulating a letter to send to Paradigm Trust, who run Ipswich Academy, as well as Ipswich MP Tom Hunt.