A NEW anti-bullying and stranger awareness course has been launched in South Oxford.

It is the first time Oxford Sport and Traditional Martial Arts has run such a course, and was launched in response to feedback from local schools.

Coach and instructor Joby Wilson said: “We run similar sessions in our martial arts classes but it is the first time we have offered it as a standalone summer course.

“We had done a lot of things before schools broke up and compiled a lot of information and schools were really interested in it.”

The course, launched at South Oxford Community Centre, Lake Street, last week, is aimed at people in the last years of primary school, and the first couple of years of secondary school.

There will be two elements – teaching stranger awareness and anti-bullying.

Stranger awareness will include teaching wrist releases and escapes, and identifying a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ stranger.

The anti-bullying will work on a Three T System — Tell, Talk, Tackle, offering ways to deal with verbal and physical bullying.

Mr Wilson said: “It’s getting the message across about dealing with situations they could be in contact with, particularly coming up to secondary school.

“We have had a couple of parents contact us whose children were feeling a bit anxious about situations they might be put in and wanted to have the backing there to deal with that situation themselves.”

He said the third phase of the anti-bullying system, tackle, did not mean physically tackling someone: “It’s more about ways of restraining a person without causing injury to yourself or another person.”

Eight people have signed up to the course, which runs for an hour on Tuesdays from 4.30pm until September 3. The cost is £10.

Mr Wilson said he kept the fee low to ensure it was not a barrier to taking part.

It is possible to join part-way through.

Contact Mr Wilson on 07572 885357 or email jobywilson@ymail.com