A leading private school will use Greek philosophers to teach pupils how to spot "fake news" on social media, as it prepares to launch a new course in the new year.

Brighton College, a co-educational school in East Sussex, will begin offering the course next term as a way to encourage children to think critically about the information they receive online.

Aristotle’s teachings about truth are to feature on the course, which will be overseen by Leak Hamblett, the £36,000-a-year school's deputy headmistress.

Ms Hamblett, a philosophy teacher, hope the children will learn how to tell the difference between "what is real and what is true".

She said: "I want to teach them to go looking at resources, looking at where your source comes from, are they respectable?

"If you're going to read something check it out on a few different platforms, don't necessarily think it's true because it's come through social media."