BEN describes how, when he was six, he told his mum, “I want to be a boy.” When he was 13, he says he was pushed down the stairs at school.

Born a girl, Ben is transgender, one of an increasing number to turn to the Fusion project at Clydebank-based charity Y Sort It for support and friendship.

Last year, bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pupils was highlighted as a major problem for schools across the country, particularly young people identifying as transgender or transsexual.

Senior teaching staff are receiving extra training as youth workers acknowledge more needs to be done. New council figures claim there were no LGBT bullying incidents at any school in 2015/16.

Ben, now 17, says his first experience of bullying was in S1 at St Peter the Apostle High. At the time he believed he was lesbian. An S6 pupil said some unsavoury things to him, “I felt threatened by him. I told someone I thought was a close friend and they spread it around the school. My mum went up to the school and tried to deal with it and the school said it would have a word with the other pupil,” says Ben.

But other incidents occurred, not just words but getting spat on, and around Hallowe’en when he was in S3, he says he was pushed down the stairs.

“We were telling the school the names of people and they said there was no proof. When I got pushed down the stairs, they said they couldn’t do anything about it because it was out of school hours.”

Natalie, a young bisexual Bankie, also now 17, started at Clydebank High but it didn’t go well. Just three weeks into S1, someone shouted “lesbian” to her while she was sitting in the corridor. She walked out of school and told her mum she wasn’t returning.

So Natalie sat at home watching the TV, not going out, gaining weight, feeling even more uncomfortable with herself, eventually leading to self-hatred and self-harming.

It was in third year that she began to attend Choices, based in Faifley, and resumed her schooling and found much greater support.

For both Ben and Natalie, key support came from their mums and from the Fusion project.

“My mum and my little sister were the key parts,” says Natalie. “My two siblings have Asperger’s, mum was a single mum and I look up to her. I love my wee sister and seeing how she deals with me made me look at my problems as dull.”

Ben says: “My mum was the reason I stayed in school. It got to a point when I phoned my school for three weeks in a row and I pretended to be my mum to not go. My mum was one of those people who said it would get easier.

“You just act like it is not a problem – you walk away. If you report bullying, you’re seen as a bit of a grass.”

Only in his fifth year did Ben tell a games teacher he needed more support, and the teacher went away and researched the issues.

“I had to explain to teachers that this is what it entails,” he adds.

Gillian Kirkwood, manager of Y Sort It, says their biggest number of queries to the Fusion project this year has been about transgender/transsexual youth. But despite more people coming forward, it is still largely hidden.

“We have staff trained for third party reporting for hate crimes and there has been a lot of work around hate crime,” she says. “I think it’s getting through to young people that it will not be tolerated.

“I think Fusion being visible and young people accessing the service has made a difference.”

Dumbarton Academy recently became one of the first schools to launch a LGBTI + Straight Alliance group. Ben and Natalie see that as positive, but there is much more work to do in Clydebank for schools to get to that position.

West Dunbartonshire Council said it could not comment on historic claims, but a spokeswoman said: “All children, regardless of their sexuality, gender identity or expression have the right to come to school, feel welcomed and be treated with dignity and respect.

“We have trained pupil support staff in each of our secondary schools to assist young people with any issue they face. Our schools actively promote inclusion and do not tolerate bullying or harassment of any kind. Any report of bullying is fully investigated by our staff with support offered to anyone making a complaint.

“We are committed to the professional development of our education staff and the principles of GIRFEC (Getting It Right for Every Child). We recognise the diversity of the young people in our schools and ensure staff have appropriate access to knowledge and training to fully support them.”

But LGBT Youth Scotland reported in November pupils needed stronger leadership from schools and local authorities on bullying.

In a study, the group found higher levels of bullying for transgender youngsters than the LGBT friends already face. They called for more support and guidance for teachers, and improved regulation and inspections of schools on the subject of bullying of LGBT pupils.

Though there were no incidents reported to West Dunbartonshire Council last year, the NSPCC charity said in December its Childline helpline held record numbers of counselling sessions about transgender and gender dysphoria in the past year.

There were 185 counselling sessions across Scotland as young people warned they suffered from mental health issues from abuse, bullying and lack of support.

Last year it was reported the attempted suicide rate among young transgender/transsexual people was 48 per cent.

Daniel, 22, is a youth worker at Y Sort It and was one of the first to set up Fusion when he was 16 – as Gillian describes it, “When we started it Dan and I were the only two gays in the village”.

He says he had a horrible time at Clydebank High in his early years, ultimately being sent to a residential school after he was avoiding school because of bullying. “There was no point speaking up because it just became an argument between parents and school – they would say it’s your word against theirs,” he says.

But S5 and S6 were significantly different after his bullies left in S4. He was the first person in his year group to be “out” and others began to realise the pressure he was under.

For all three young people, school was an isolating experience.

“I thought I was the only gay person in the world, it’s really quite scary,” says Daniel.

Ben, now attending college, says he used to let people “walk all over” him but was more confident now.

“It’s quite lonely,” agrees Natalie.

The Fusion group meets on Mondays at 6.30pm at Y Sort It at 5 West Thomson Street.