Nathan Whitmore, 15, with Mum Cathilee. Nathan was targeted for two years by bullies who told him to "Go kill yourself, faggot". Credit:Chris Hopkins Somerville Secondary College, which Nathan has since left, acknowledges the bullying occurred for two years until late 2014 but the principal said he did not report that he was victimised because of his sexuality. However, Nathan insists he was repeatedly the target of homophobic slurs from an older boy in the same class. In one incident another bully threatened to kill him. It only stopped when Nathan reported the bullying to police and his Mum went to court to obtain an intervention order against the ringleader. "He would say, 'you're a gay faggot who everyone hates, just go kill yourself and get it over with, everyone would be happy and better off'," Nathan said.

"In year seven it was mostly verbal but when I got to year eight he started pushing me around and kicking me until it got to the point where he bashed me with a skateboard. That's when we went to the police and got the restraining order." Cathilee has spent $4000 on counselling for Nathan after he made repeated suicide attempts following two years of school bullying. Credit:Chris Hopkins Cathilee​ Whitmore said she repeatedly asked the school and education department to expel her son's bullies but the most severe punishment they received was a short suspension. "When I took the intervention order out the principal put them in the same class. He said 'they're still five metres away from each other so it's fine'. But this boy would sit there and stare at Nathan the whole time and intimidate him," Ms Whitmore said. "The school just had no empathy at all. Somebody has to be held accountable for what he's been through. His psychologist says his childhood has been taken from him and he'll never be the same."

He would say, 'you're a gay faggot who everyone hates, just go kill yourself and get it over with, everyone would be happy and better off'. Nathan Whitmore. Principal Christopher Lloyd said there had been "a couple of significant incidents of bullying" but he had been advised by the Education Department not to comment further. However, in a statement he provided to support the intervention order against the bully he acknowledged Nathan had been physically and verbally "harassed, bullied and intimidated" by a boy who also recruited other students to abuse him. "The ongoing harassment and bullying has negatively impacted on Nathan's attendance at school and his state of wellbeing and has impacted on his learning both directly and indirectly," Mr Lloyd wrote. The situation has created bad blood between the families, with the bully's mother also obtaining an intervention order against Ms Whitmore, claiming she has harassed them, which she denies.

Nathan, who was diagnosed with severe anxiety and a major depressive episode, still self-harms as a way to deal with the emotional pain. "Since the bullying I've become really angry and down. I just want people to know that it's not OK to bully someone to the point that they are harming themselves. School is meant to be a place where you feel safe." It comes in a week where Malcolm Turnbull has ordered a review of the Safe Schools Coalition – a program designed to make schools more inclusive for LGBTI students – after sustained attacks from religious groups and the conservative right of the Liberal party. Liberal senator Cory Bernardi has led the charge against the Safe Schools program. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Both Nathan's former school and his current school, Elisabeth Murdoch College, are members of the program but he said it was only in his new school that he feels safe and accepted.

Roz Ward, manager of Safe Schools Coalition Victoria, said the case highlighted the need to bolster the program because they only have four staff to provide support to 500 schools, and rely on leadership from schools to ensure the program is effectively implemented. "We would welcome the opportunity to do further work with Somerville Secondary College," she said. A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said at the time of the incidents the school took appropriate disciplinary action and had offered counselling, a claim Ms Whitmore strongly disputes. "In certain circumstances, the Department may reimburse parents for private medical expenses, including counselling, where it has been assessed that the Department has been negligent in discharging its duty of care. "Due to privacy obligations, it is inappropriate to provide information about individual students."

Ms Whitmore's solicitor, James Brett Young from Shine Lawyers, said schools are responsible for providing students with safe and supportive environments and must ensure staff are appropriately trained to protect pupils from bullying and harassment. For help contact: Lifeline 131 114 beyondblue 1300 224 636 Follow Jill on Twitter