By Jess McCabe | 9 May 2005, 08:58

Lesbian and gay children are being driven out of school by homophobic bullying, the Guardian reports today.

Stonewall has estimated that 60,000 children are the victims of abuse from name-calling to “serious physical and sexual assaults”.

Although teachers are finally beginning to wise up to homophobic bullying, and the Government is focusing on it as part of it’s anti-bulling strategy, experts have called it the “last acceptable form of abuse and intimidation in the classroom”.

From the article:

“‘My IT [information technology] teacher used to think it was funny,’ said Simon, 16, who went to a south London comprehensive. ‘He wouldn’t actually join in but he would encourage the other lads in the class to have a go at me.

‘He knew what was going on but he never did anything to stop it. He used to leave the room for half an hour at a time even though I’d told him what would happen - that they would spit at me and call me names and throw pencils and stuff at me … He often used to laugh about it.’”