Morgan Allen grew up as a boy called James, before coming out as transgender earlier in 2016.

Morgan Allen believes she's one of the lucky ones, despite her long battle with depression and anxiety.

She came out to her parents as transgender earlier this year after a long struggle to find her true identity.

"I did it by literally writing a note that said 'I'm transgender' and left it downstairs," she said. "And my mum was the one who found the note.

CHRIS SKELTON / FAIRFAX NZ Rainbow Youth general manager Duncan Matthews wants schools to do more to support transgender students.

"She was originally confused, kind of 'what the hell is this, what are you talking about?' But after a couple of weeks we sat down and had a conversation about it, and since then she's been unbelievably supportive.

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"My dad is also fully onboard. They're very much of the mentality that they'd rather have a happy child than a dead one."

Allen went through school as a boy named James, but knew she was different from around the age of eight. It wasn't easy.

"I was always one of the kids at school who was targeted by bullies," she said.

"I was a very vulnerable person, because I didn't really know who I was."

Sunday marks Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual event that highlights the suffering of the transgender community.

There's particular concern about the wellbeing of transgender secondary school students.

More than half are afraid someone at school will hurt or bother them according to the latest Adolescent Health Survey, which anonymously surveyed a representative sample of 8500 Kiwi teens.

Dr Jaimie Veale from Waikato University has spent years studying transgender health, and said the statistics were even more concerning when it came to mental wellbeing.

"Forty per cent of high school students reported significant depressive symptoms, and nearly half of them had self-harmed in the last twelve months," she said.

"About 20 per cent reported that they'd attempted suicide in the last year."

As at 1 July 2016 there were 283,758 secondary students in New Zealand; 1.2 per cent identify as transgender.

Run the math, and it works out to 680 suicide attempts by transgender teens each year.

Susan Howan, acting head of sector enablement and support at the Ministry of Education, said the ministry did not provide specific guidelines for schools on how to treat transgender students.

"However, the New Zealand curriculum is supported by the values of diversity, equity, respect and the recognition of human rights," she said.

Rainbow Youth general manager Duncan Matthews believes schools could go a lot further to support students who are struggling with their gender identity.

He said the current guidelines were open to interpretation, and some principals refused to accept they may have transgender or gender diverse students in their schools.

"There needs to be a targeted intervention, giving a clear signal from government that it's not okay," he said.

For Allen, finding her true identity has been a major milestone.

"After coming out there was this huge weight lifted, a feeling that I didn't need to hide behind this person that I wasn't.

"I could actually express myself."