A school in Brighton labelled as 'the coolest state secondary in town' has 40 children who do not identify with their sex at birth with another 36 saying they are 'gender fluid'.

Dorothy Stringer School in Brighton was previously praised by Tatler magazine for its 'liberal vibe' and for having the 'perfect balance between work and fun'.

Headteacher Richard Bradford has revealed that the figures were found in a council survey and they are the highest at any school in the country.

Dorothy Stringer School in Brighton has 40 children who do not identify with their sex at birth with another 36 saying they are 'gender fluid'

Mr Bradford told the Sunday Times: 'The number of ''openly trans children'' who had approached us with their families to say that they are transgender [was] much lower.'

The news marks a huge increase in the number of children in Britain seeking to change their gender.

The NHS has a specialist service for children wanting to change genders and referrals to it have risen by 700% over the past five years.

One Brighton charity, called Allsorts Youth Project, launched the UK's first-ever group for 'trans or gender-questioning' children aged five to 11.

Allsorts is believed to have 27 members with an average age of nine.

The group received £166,000 in public and lottery funding and runs awareness courses state secondary schools all over Brighton - including Dorothy Stringer.

And Allsorts isn't the only group to receive funding with several activists groups being supported by the public sector, the national lottery and the BBC's Children in Need.

NHS England has also signed an agreement not to suppress the expression of gender identity.

Polly Carmichael, director of the NHS gender service for youngsters, says some children are caught up in gender change rather than doing it out of their own

These influential groups combine with YouTube vloggers, activism and awareness classes to create, as one American academic puts it, 'rapid onset gender dysphoria'.

Lisa Littman's theory is that teenagers are turning to gender transition as a way of coping with experiences and stresses they are faced with - and they are encouraged by friends and widespread information on gender issues.

Polly Carmichael, director of the NHS gender service for children, told the Sunday Times that 'without a doubt there are some young people who are finding a community, friends and all sorts of things through joining a group who have an interest around gender. It's probably the case that [some] are caught up in something rather than it being an expression of something that has arisen from within.'

And the NHS area of Surrey, Kent and Sussex - which includes Brighton- has sent more children to the NHS gender service than the whole of Greater London combined.

A Brighton teacher said: 'What's happening is worrying and many of us know it, but nobody wants to speak up and get shot.'