Kingham bully victim enters Miss England to help others

17-year-old Rheanna Cartier hopes to win the wildcard round to have a shot at winning the Miss England prize.

Significantly bullied at school which left her with low self esteem this success would be an important victory for her.

“It was really hard,” said the teen, who enjoyed growing up in the grounds of Heythrop Zoological Gardens.

“The worst of it was when my school didn’t report the bullying because they were placed under special measures by Ofsted, so their response was to put me in isolation.

“I was really shy and the older girls called me names and for a long time I ignored it, but after a few months I couldn’t help reacting.

“After that it just escalated so I started getting in lots of trouble because it caused me to act out.”

Due to the bullying she went to study at Skals Efterskole an international boarding school in Denmark.

This was also challenging because the students were older, which made her grow up fast.

“Since around June I’ve started to get my confidence back.

“I want to help others because when I was in a difficult place I felt like I couldn’t do anything.

“I was so shy and worried of being judged, I felt like I couldn’t be myself.

“I want to show other victims that there is light at the end of the tunnel and the difficult times we go through can give us strength and motivation for the future.”

Her advice is this, “Make sure that your school is dealing with it and if they’re not, contact a charity who will help fight with you.

“Seek support and stay healthy by focusing on yourself and practicing self care.

Rheanna now lives in Kingham, near Chipping Norton, where she loves to showcase the beautiful countryside in her photos, such as the above which is taken in Bibury, and this will be her first pageant.

Voters can support Rheanna by choosing her on the wildcard round until the last week of January.

Visit missengland.info/wildcard