Well done Ed Balls!

I am pleased to hear that Schools Secretary Ed Balls is keen to stamp out the use of the word gay as an insult.

This sort of homophobia is endemic in British schools, fuelled by the vileness of popular culture.

Balls rightly says "Even casual use of homophobic language in schools – such as the worryingly prevalent use of the word "gay" as a derogatory term – can create an atmosphere that isolates young people and can be the forerunner for more serious forms of bullying.

"Homophobic bullying creates an ugly climate of intimidation and can make it harder for young people to come out. 'Whether it's directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual young people, our guidance makes clear that such bullying should be challenged."

A survey by Stonewall released in mid March found that nine in ten secondary school teachers and two in five primary school teachers said pupils experience homophobic bullying, even if they are not gay.

Stonewall are also right to highlight that comments like Jonathan Ross' joke on boys wanting Hannah Montana-themed MP3 players, which the BBC seemed to believe was not offensive as it was "light-hearted". So, jokes never offensive then?

In 2005, Rachel Shabi wrote a harrowing account of homophobic bullying in schools.

The bullying of Andrew Keats began when he was 13, after his two best friends outed him. He had just told them about his sexuality and asked them to keep it secret. But they didn't, and soon the whole school knew. It was great gossip, Keats being gay - but not great for him. Friends he'd known since he was a toddler started phoning, calling him a "fucking faggot" or saying, "Don't come near me - I've seen the way you look at me in the changing rooms."

That's how the bullying began, with a tirade of insults: "faggot", "queer", or shouts of "Backs against the wall - gay boy's coming" as Keats passed through the school corridors. There was graffiti about him, on his locker, on desks, on the toilet walls. "I'd see 'For gay sex, phone this number' next to my mobile number etched into desks," he says. Then he started to receive hate mail, graphic illustrations of anal sex with his name scrawled all over them. And one day, coming out of a science lesson, Keats was beaten to the floor by one of his tormentors. The teacher managed to pull the attacker off, but by then Keats had been badly injured, his glasses smashed into his face, cuts all over his hands, wrists, face and arms. The boy who launched the attack was expelled, but for Keats, now 19, the bullying didn't stop until he left school.