The end of the summer holidays leaves millions of teenagers feeling wistful but one 13-year-old had more reason to be nervous about the start of the new school year than most.
In August, Charlie Simpson, 13, was forced to resign as the Youth Parliament Representative for Ashfield Nottinghamshire over his support for Reform UK. The charity guidelines state that participants need to be politically neutral.
He has regularly tweeted his support for Nigel Farage's party on X.
Charlie feared that his political affiliations would make him a target at school come term time.
The member of staff allegedly 'engaged in laughing with the students' at Charlie's expense
GB News/Charlie Simpson
He was right. But he could never have predicted who would lead the charge against him on his first day back at Quarrydale Academy in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
It was during his lunch break that an exchange with a member of staff allegedly took a nasty turn. When approached by GB News, Quarrydale Academy said it had now resolved the incident in line with its policies.
In an exclusive interview with GB News, Charlie claims that the member of staff told him: "We have heard about your resignation all over social media from the Youth Parliament. My entire family have had a wonderful time laughing about you over the summer holidays."
This initial comment made Charlie feel "uncomfortable" but things went from bad to worse, he tells GB News.
The staff member allegedly revealed that two of Charlie's classmates had approached them about his resignation from the Youth Parliament.
Charlie confronted the two students shortly after the exchange, taking them to task about why they thought it was acceptable to share personal details about his life with a member of staff.
To which one of the students allegedly replied: "We have seen what you have posted on Twitter Charlie and to be honest it would not surprise me if you started leading a Hitler youth wing."
Charlie then claims the staff member joined in the conversation and said: "Yes Charlie, it would not be a surprise. You're a racist and a Nazi."
The member of staff then "engaged in laughing with the students", Charlie alleges, which left him feeling "defenceless" and "intimidated".
He told GB News: "Someone in a position of power should step in and protect young people but this staff member did not and it caused me a lot of issues."
The young Reform supporter initially was not going to report the incident as he "didn't want the attention" but after posting about it on social media he received a groundswell of support from "former teachers" and the general public, he says.
Charlie went to his head of year's office and reported the staff member and two students.
Following the incident, Quarrydale Academy released the following statement: "At Quarrydale Academy, we take any concerns or complaints from our students extremely seriously. I am aware of statements that have been made during the weekend by Charles Simpson regarding a member of our support staff and his claims that verbal abuse was encouraged due to his political beliefs.
"Therefore, I would like to clarify that these allegations have been fully investigated as soon as we were made aware of them. The investigation included interviews with both staff members and the students identified by Charles.
"Following a thorough process, this matter has been addressed in line with the academy’s policies and resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.
"Throughout this process, Charles has been offered the full support of the academy, including opportunities to discuss and expand on any concerns he may have with senior members of staff. We believe these concerns have now been fully addressed, and we remain committed to supporting all our students, including Charles, in a respectful and professional environment.
"It is important to note that while we respect the individual rights of students to express their views, the academy should not be used as a platform for political views or indeed ambitions.
"Our priority is to maintain a supportive, inclusive atmosphere for all students and staff. Thank you for your support and understanding."
