OXFORDSHIRE County Council has been named one of the best local authorities in Britain for tackling homophobic bullying in its schools.

The council finished 10th out of 47 local authorities across the country in a survey that measures a school’s ability and success in combatting homophobia.

Stonewall – a charity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality – released the results today. Melinda Tilley, council cabinet member for children, education and families, said: “We are very pleased to be ranked among the country’s best local authorities for tackling this issue and are continuing to work with schools and other settings across the county as part of our wider anti-bullying work.

“Any young person can experience homophobic and biphobic bullying, and like all forms of bullying it should not be allowed to go unchallenged.”

Schools in the county have received training to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans young people to raise awareness of the issues.

Sarah Rose, senior account manager at Stonewall, said: “We have seen phenomenal work from all of those local authorities that participated in this year’s Education Equality Index.”