The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) did not provide a breakdown of the types of sexual offences, but confirmed that 237 of the reports - around 92 per cent - involved alleged victims who were under 18.

The data was obtained by BBC Radio 5 Live using Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

The Department of Education in Northern Ireland (DENI) was not able to identify how many students had been excluded in connection with sex abuse allegations.

A DENI spokesperson told the BBC that disciplinary action is “left up to the discretion of the school”.

A spokesman for the UK government added: “Our statutory guidance is crystal clear that anyone who has concerns about pupils’ welfare should refer to local authorities or the police if a crime is committed, and all schools must act swiftly on allegations.”