Report says that police have investigated 645 alleged rapes in Britain’s schools over the past three years.
The report reveals that there have been a total of 5,500 reported sex crimes in classrooms and playgrounds since 2012.
Police believe this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The vast majority of allegations, nearly 4,000, were physical sexual assaults while the remainder included offences such as making explicit images, exposure or voyeurism.
At least a fifth were offences carried out by other pupils and a quarter of victims, some 1,500 children, were under 13.
It is good news that more victims have the confidence to come forward and report abuse, although, while I cannot prove this, I believe more child abuse is taking place
In the programme, to be broadcast today, one girl tells how she was sexually assaulted in a school storeroom while a teenage boy recalls how three male friends attacked him in a classroom.
Police believe the problem is even worse.
Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs Council lead for child protection, said: “I believe these figures are the tip of the iceberg.
“It is good news that more victims have the confidence to come forward and report abuse, although, while I cannot prove this, I believe more child abuse is taking place.
“That includes children being raped on school premises.”
Jon Brown, head of Sexual Abuse Programmes at the NSPCC, believes children watching porn on their phones is a major factor.
He said: “We know that for some older children, accessing hardcore pornography is warping their view of what is acceptable behaviour. And the very young, those of primary school age or even younger, may be copying sexual activity they have witnessed.”
Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said sex and relationships need be taught in all schools, adding: “Every child needs to understand what is inappropriate.”