English Children 'Among World's Unhappiest'

School children in England are among the unhappiest in the world, according to a charity.

English youngsters were less satisfied with life than those in 13 other countries out of the 15 surveyed, with only those in South Korea unhappier.

Children in Romania were found to be the happiest, with Colombian youngsters second, according to the Children's Society.

When asked if they were unhappy with life as a whole, just one out of every 100 youngsters in Romania said "yes", compared to one in 14 in England.

The Good Childhood Report 2015 examined how 53,000 children aged 10 and 12 in a range of countries felt about themselves.

It found that English girls also had the second-lowest score for body confidence, with young women giving themselves an average of 7.3 out of ten compared to top scoring Romania's 9.4.

Children in England scored the lowest out of all 15 countries for self-confidence.

The survey also found that nearly four out of ten students (38%) aged 10 and 12 in England reported that they had been physically bullied in the past month and half (50%) had felt excluded at school.

Children's Society chief executive Matthew Reed said: "It is deeply worrying that children in this country are so unhappy at school compared to other countries and it is truly shocking that thousands of children are being physically and emotionally bullied, damaging their happiness.

"School should be a safe haven, not a battleground."

The study's results come in the wake of a report that found that primary and secondary pupils are being reduced to tears as a result of the pressure they are under to perform at school .

Kevin Courtney, deputy general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, blamed the poor mental health of school-age youngsters on the "narrow curriculum" and "exam factories" culture in schools.

He said: "Children can now expect to be branded 'failures' when barely into primary education, and many of those who undergo high-stakes tests and examinations at all stages of school life experience serious stress-related anxiety."

A Department for Education spokeswoman said the Government was working hard to deal with the issues.

She said: "Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and all schools must have measures in place to tackle it. That is why we are providing more than £7m to help schools tackle bullying head on.

"We are also promoting greater use of counselling in schools, improving teaching about mental health, and supporting joint working between mental health services and schools. This will ensure children can thrive both inside and out the classroom."