A staggering 62 per cent of pupils in Malta consider bullying a problem in their school, according to research by the British council.

The research was conducted across more than 50 schools in Europe who were chosen for their mix of children from different backgrounds.

It found that children in Europe’s schools find that sexual orientation, differences in physical appearance and disability are barriers to fitting in at school.

46 per cent of students in the countries covered by the study say that sexual orientation is the most common reason for children to make fun of each other in Europe’s schools, followed by physical appearance at 42 per cent and disability at 35 per cent.

The study showed marked differences between countries: 58 per cent of pupils in Italy make fun of others because of race compared to nine per cent in the Netherlands; 62 per cent of pupils in Malta consider bullying a problem in their school compared to 15 per cent in Spain.

Only 11 per cent of pupils in Malta felt stressed at school and 65 per cent felt that it is very important for their future to be successful at school. 75 per cent felt that their school made an effort to involve all of its students regardless of their backgrounds.

Of the 4,200 children surveyed across Europe, first generation migrants were 47 per cent more likely to have been made fun of in the last three months, 17 per cent more likely to be bullied and almost three times more likely to need help in school because they do not understand.

The survey is part of the British Council’s Inclusion and Diversity in Education (INDIE) project.

The project was created in 2007 to deal with the challenges faced by schools with increased numbers of migrant pupils. It has united education specialists, head teachers and pupils themselves from Belgium, England, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Wales.