In a survey by Calderdale Council, more than half of primary and a third of secondary school children admitted they had been picked on.
Given that this is such an emotive subject, and for all kinds of reasons not something a victim always wants to admit, it is likely the true figures are even higher.
Replicate this across the country and it becomes clear Britain has a problem of epidemic proportions.
National Anti-Bullying Week has been embraced locally. There has been a major conference involving those working with children and children themselves and the council has developed an anti-bullying strategy.
It will, however, take a tremendous amount of hard work stretching way beyond the confines of the classroom, school bus or local youth clubs to effect real change.
For a start, bullying is not a one-dimensional problem. There is the position of the bully to take into account as well as the victim.
Their actions may be influenced for any number of reasons. They may be from socially deprived backgrounds and be victims of abuse themselves; they may feel inferior to their victims and some may find themselves pawns in a hierarchy of bullies. This happens particularly in gangs.
Anyone who has been bullied knows the feeling of anxiety, fear and utter hopelessness it brings. In the worst cases it can lead to truancy, self harm and even worse. Putting a support net in place to stop this happening is essential.
At the same time more must be done to get to the bottom of the causes of bullying and to educate everyone about its potential effects.
That calls for an intensive and prolonged effort by teachers, social workers, police and parents and – most importantly – young people too.