The figures were released ahead of the start of the new school year by anti-bullying charity The Diana Award, which is supported by the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex and was set up in memory of their mother.

The survey, which polled more than 1,000 11 to 16-year-olds, also suggests that 40% of young people are worried about going back to school because of bullying, while only 23% think their school is good at tackling the issue.

However, not all bullying takes place in school and two in five young people (40%) said they have been targeted via social media.

Liam Moore, a Christian youthworker, told Premier: “When you look at some kids who are caught in the poverty track – they can’t afford trainers, they can’t afford the latest clothing, they can’t afford the latest kind of gimmick or whatever – the next minute they’re starting to be pointed out and started to be to put upon and vilified and castigated.

“You can see there’s just a lot of issues that are going on and obviously it’s increased through the years and the social dynamics have changed as well. Peer pressure and unemployment, families who are really struggling with universal credit and unemployment and all these  punitive measures, I believe, from the government are having an impact on families and having an impact on the children more than anything.”

Moore added that it was an area…

Paul Udoto, spokesman for the Kenya Wildlife Service, said those who died in the Sunday evening tragedy were five Kenyans of Indian descent, an Indian national and their Kenyan driver.

Six of the bodies have been recovered, Mr Udoto said on Monday.

Seven years ago, seven members of a church group died when they were washed away by floods in the same area, which is prone to flash floods during the rainy season.

Authorities say that while it may not be raining in the gorges, rainfall from surrounding areas builds up and can rush through the restricted space.

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Ministry statistics published by the Church of England have revealed a rise from four per cent in 2016 to eight per cent in 2018 in those from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds training for ordination. 

The Church of England’s Minority Ethnic Vocations Officer, Rosemarie Davidson-Gotobed told Premier this increase is encouraging as it could inspire further ethnic diversity.

“We’re seeing a number of clergy and senior clergy coming to the fore.

“People are seeing somebody like themselves and saying, ‘Wow, God is calling that person. So, God calling me might not necessarily be such a weird thing’.”

According to Ms Davidson-Gotobed, many people don’t feel the career prospect of ordination is open to them.

She said: “Sometimes for people, they don’t see people such as themselves in roles of ministry, whether it be at a parish level or senior clergy level. Putting those people in front and saying, look, there are people like you here is one thing.”

“Some people, unfortunately, it maybe they were discouraged from taking that call because it wasn’t recognised within their church.”

Ms Davidson-Gotobed said the Church has a responsibility to model diversity: “If our country is diverse in gender, in region, in class, in ethnicity, why can’t our clergy be diverse as well?

“When thinking about what God might be calling people to, why not ordained ministry?”

She…

According to the Church Times, the Most Rev Justin Welby said that those who voted to stay in the EU needed to consider the rights of “democracy” and focus on “reuniting the country.”

Speaking at a question and answer session at the Christian festival Greenbelt, Welby said: “We have to take seriously the fact that the majority voted Leave.

“We may not like it, but that is democracy; and that means we have to stop whingeing about it and do something about reuniting the country.”

He said he was a “democrat” who did not support the campaign for a second vote.

He warned that the country must come together behind a “vision for this country that is outward-looking, is done top-down, middle-out and bottom-up” and suggested the Church of England could help to ease tensions between Leavers and Remainers.

“‘The Church is one of those institutions that can do that,” he added.

The Archbishop’s comments follow reports last week that he is in talks to chair public meetings to discuss how a no-deal Brexit can be avoided.

He has been approached by a cross-party group of senior MPs, including Christian Conservative Dame Caroline Spelman.

The forum is due to take place at Coventry Cathedral next month.

The Archbishop has insisted that any forum should not be a ‘Trojan Horse’ for cancelling Brexit and has received support from his fellow clergymen, the Bishop of Buckingham.

The Right Rev…

He was trapped for 25 minutes in a lift in the Vatican and had to be rescued by firefighters.

It appeared to be an electrical issue that caused the lift to stop as the pontiff said there was a “drop in tension”.

He asked the crowd to applaud the Holy See firefighters.

Pope Francis also urged governments to show the “political will” to take drastic steps to deal with climate change and said it is time to abandon dependence on fossil fuels.

Francis issued the appeal in a message on Sunday, the start of several weeks of prayer by Christians to raise political awareness about pollution and exploitation of natural resources.

He also urged people to reflect on “thoughtful and harmful” daily decisions about consumption and “self-centred” attitudes towards Creation.

Francis said that at the UN Climate Action Summit later this month, “governments will have the responsibility of showing the political will to take drastic measures” to achieve as quickly as possible zero net greenhouse gas emissions and to limit the average increase in global temperature in line with the Paris climate accords.

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Francis issued the appeal in a message on Sunday, the start of several weeks of prayer by Christians to raise political awareness about pollution and exploitation of natural resources.

He also urged people to reflect on “thoughtful and harmful” daily decisions about consumption and “self-centred” attitudes towards Creation.

Francis said that at the UN Climate Action Summit later this month, “governments will have the responsibility of showing the political will to take drastic measures” to achieve as quickly as possible zero net greenhouse gas emissions and to limit the average increase in global temperature in line with the Paris climate accords.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.