Schools across the country are participating in a themed day to mark the start of 'Anti-Bullying Week'.

Called 'Odd Socks Day', pupils are encouraged to wear odd socks to school to commemorate the day.

One such participating school is Cockermouth School.

A spokesperson from Cockermouth School explained why wearing odd socks is symbolic of opposing bullying: "It's basically about the fact that were all unique and we are all different."

The day is a kind of non uniform day, as the spokesperson explained that plain black socks are part of the school uniform.

They added: "During the whole week, there will be lots of different operations, for example, we are posting posters around school, and we are going to advocate being an upstander for bullying, instead of a bystander, which involves being able to tackle bullying, and report it, don't let it happen, and make sure that people are okay.

"This is to make more of a case for raising awareness."

They add that the problem of bullying is widespread: "All schools have a problem with bullying

"I like to think that we tackle things as soon as they are raised.

"We also have anti-bullying ambassadors, who have gone to training sessions, where their peers can approach them to report bullying, instead of going to school staff."

The Anti-Bullying Alliance, a coalition of organisations and individuals which works together to stop bullying, said results from a questionnaire completed by nearly 15,000 pupils, published by the Anti-Bullying Alliance to mark Anti-Bullying Week, show a significant number of children are suffering frequently from bullying.

One in five pupils in England report being bullied a lot or always, with 1 in 22 saying they are frequently hit, kicked or pushed by other children.

The questionnaire, analysed by Goldsmith University, was completed by children between September 2020 and March 2021.

It indicates that rates of bullying increased to 30 per cent for children with special educational needs and disability and 27 per cent for children in receipt of free school meals.

A growing body of research evidence shows that severe and frequent bullying can have a long-lasting impact on children’s mental wellbeing and development.

Martha Evans, Director of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, said: “Our questionnaire has shown that a significant proportion of children are frequently on the receiving end of bullying behaviours.

"It doesn’t have to be this way.

"If we are alert to hurtful behaviour, encourage upstanders, and role model kindness and respect, even when we don’t always agree, we can break down barriers and brighten the lives of the people around us.

“So, let’s join millions across the country having conversations about bullying and kindness and start a chain reaction of positivity starting with ‘One Kind Word’.”