AN ANTI-bullying ambassador from Gawsworth is calling for a national review of policy in the wake of the death of Macclesfield High School pupil Megan Gillan.
Jade Prest, 19, says she "felt angry" after hearing 15-year-old Megan Gillan took her own life after a series of malicious comments attacking her were left on the internet.
Jade, who hit national headlines in 2006 after fighting back against bullies, is now more resolute to stamp it out.
"It’s very sad for her parents," said Jade, of Wardle Crescent, Gawsworth. "They have lost their daughter and I felt angry. At first I thought ‘not another one’. It can’t carry on – I still get panic attacks but you can fight it."
She added: "So I think, Why can’t we do something better to stop this happening? Why can’t people notice before it has happened? It has made me more determined.
Megan’s parents Mark Gillan, 54, and Margaret, 55, called for social networking sites to be monitored after an inquest into their daughter’s death heard how she used painkillers to kill herself after classmates waged a hate campaign on website Bebo.
Award-winning Jade works extensively for Bullying Online, which deals with the modern phenomenon of cyberbullying, and Macclesfield charity Just Drop-In, which aims to help teenagers in need.
And despite taking a degree in childcare studies at Liverpool John Moores University in September, Jade still wants to highlight the issues raised by the tragic death of Megan.
She said: "I want to go the Secretary of State for Education to raise the issue and ask for a change in policy.
"I want a review of bullying and how it’s handled. That’s my goal."
