As the group grew restless waiting for the teacher to arrive the teenager felt a punch to the back of the head and slumped against the wall. He was showered with spit and kicked until a passing member of staff told them all to stop "messing around."
"This sort of thing happened pretty much every day for 18 months,’’ said the 15-year-old, who left school a year early because of the relentless bullying. "I often had chairs thrown at me in class and was kicked and punched in the corridor. It was something I just had to deal with.’’
Steven, from Birmingham, central England, is one of tens of thousands of gay pupils who have been forced to abandon their studies because of what campaigners describe as the "endemic’’ abuse of gay and lesbian pupils across the UK.
The gay rights group Stonewall estimates that more than 60,000 gay and lesbian pupils are victims of homophobic abuse that can range from name-calling to serious physical and sexual assaults.
Last year, 13-year-old Laura Rhodes from South Wales died after taking an overdose. She had been bullied by classmates who had branded her the "school dyke."
"In many ways homophobic bullying is the last acceptable form of abuse and intimidation in the classroom,’’ said Jonathan Charlesworth, project manager at Educational Action Challenging Homophobia, which offers advice and support to lesbian and gay youngsters. "If any other group were picked out for the same sort of treatment it would simply not be tolerated, but for whatever reason it seems that much of the abuse and intimidation gay children face is overlooked.’’
According to research 40% of gay adults who were bullied at school said they had attempted suicide at least once and more than half had contemplated self-harm.
And a study by academics at the University of York revealed that gay pupils with six GCSEs were far more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to leave school at 16 because of the harrowing time they experienced at the hands of their peers.
Ben, who is now 18 and seeing a counsellor, said staying on at his school was never an option.
"I did think about taking my own life when I was at school, I had suicidal thoughts, but I didn’t really have the bottle. It was just a build of pressure from the constant namecalling and harassment.
"They didn’t know I was gay but they thought it might be (the case) because I was quite quiet. It happened every day more or less, getting called names and pushed around in the corridors. It did affect my school work because I had to have all my focus on just surviving rather than the lessons ... There was no way I could stay on any longer.’’
Alan Wardle, director of public affairs at Stonewall, said bullying often had a devastating impact on the life chances of gay pupils.
According to a study by Stonewall four out of five secondary school teachers said they were aware of bullying in schools, but many victims complain that the response of staff is often woefully inadequate.
"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.’’
As part of its anti-bullying strategy the UK government is attempting to focus on the plight of gay children in schools but many say they are fighting an uphill battle.
Gareth Davies, a senior youth worker at the Terrence Higgins Trust, which runs several support and social groups for gay and lesbian youngsters, said: "There are some positive steps that are being taken in terms of guidance for teachers and the Every Child Matters agenda. I also think there is much more of a dialogue around homophobia in schools now. But there is still a lot of work to do.’’
He said the latest research suggested that only 6% of schools had policies to deal with homophobic bullying, and those working with young people say there is still deep-seated hostility towards homosexuality.
Mr Davies said things would only change when gay and lesbian young people had more support and more positive role models.
‘’There are efforts being made by some local authorities and some schools but until lesbian and gay relationships become an accepted part of wider society and are sanctioned by the public policy and the media, young people who are facing these issues won’t have anything positive to associate with and it will remain a difficult battle to win.’’
