NEW data published after 10 million children went back to school last week, revealed the shocking impact of bullying.

To mark the start of the school year, a host of celebrities relived their experiences of being bullied at school for The Diana Award’s Back2School Campaign.

The UK charity runs the leading anti-bullying campaign, founded to give young people, professionals and parents the skills, to act as anti-bullying ambassadors.

High-profile campaign supporter, Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman, revealed she had been sexually harassed by male classmates at Godalming’s Charterhouse School when she got a scholarship there at a time when there were very few sixth form girls.

She said she had kept quiet about her experiences but it meant she “wasn’t very confident” when she left the school and she encouraged anyone being bullied now to report harassment.

Responding, Charterhouse said it had not been aware of her “serious allegations” and had now reported them to the police.

Statistics released by The Diana Award charity from YouGov and Survation polls show that 40 per cent of young people reported they had been bullied for their academic ability, with over half (51 per cent) afraid to put their hand up in class because of bullying.

More than a third (39 per cent) said bullying had affected their school grades and attendance, nearly a quarter have had to change school and almost a half were worried about going back to school after the holidays because of bullying.

Worryingly, 70 per cent of parents said that head teachers are not doing enough to stop bullying happening.

The Diana Award was established in 1999 by the British Government in order to continue Princess Diana’s legacy by establishing a formal way to recognise young people who were going above and beyond the expected in their local communities. In 2006, it became an independent charity, Five years later, it launched the Anti-Bullying Programme, followed by a mentoring programme in 2012.

•The Back2School campaign invites members of the public to join in across social media channels by sharing their old school photo, along with their advice for young people who are returning to school. If they choose to, they can also text a donation to support the training of young Anti-Bullying Ambassadors in every school.