AN ASPIRING singer- songwriter is thanking the bullies that ruined her school years for making her a stronger person.

Lauren Taylor has now teamed up with charity Fixers to make a music video for her song called ‘Why Did You?’

The 20-year-old wants young people who are currently being bullied to find strength from her video and understand that things will get better.

Lauren has cerebral palsy – a physical impairment that affects movement and co-ordination - and has always used a wheelchair, which made her a target for bullies.

"The bullying started when I went to a mainstream senior school and it made me incredibly unhappy," said Lauren, who lives in Bournemouth.

"They called me names, jumped on the back of my chair and tried to tip it up. They did everything they could to make me jump and stole my dinner money from the schoolbag on the back of my chair."

Avoiding school as much as she could, Lauren says telling her teachers didn’t help because their involvement made the bullies gave her ‘payback’.

"I dreaded going to school. I had some friends but they weren’t always in my classes and one good friend joined the bully’s side and decided she didn’t want to know me."

Lauren finally escaped the bullying when she moved areas, and started at a new school for children with special needs.

Today she says her awful school years have made her the person she is now.

"But even though it was such a negative experience, it has definitely made me a stronger person. I still get criticism from the public sometimes and I can deal with it better because I went through such a hard time at school.

"It made me develop coping strategies and I came out the other side the positive person I am today. I hope my music video shows young people who are struggling to turn a bully’s negativity into their own positivity."

Since leaving school, Lauren has completed a BTec in music and wrote ‘Why Did You?’ about her experiences of being bullied.

The music video she made with Fixers’ features flashbacks of Lauren being bullied at school.

This project has been supported by The Blagrave Trust – a funder which supports vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people across the south.

Fixers works with young people aged 16-25 across the UK by providing them with professional resources to help them campaign on issues they feel strongly about.

The charity has helped more than 20,000 youngsters across the UK to have a voice in their community on issues such as cyber-bullying, self-harm, suicide or transphobia.

For more information or to make a donation to fund more Fixer projects, go to fixers.org.uk