A teenager is suing the Victorian Education Department after alleged homophobic bullying left him suicidal.

Fifteen-year-old Nathan Whitmore says he was the victim of ongoing harassment and intimidation for his sexuality, during his time at Somerville Secondary College.

He says one particular school bully bashed him with a skateboard and threatened to stab him.

“He [a fellow student] called me a faggot, he called me useless,” Nathan has told ABC reporters.

“He called me a pig, he basically called me everything you can think of.

“It got bad to the point I tried to killed myself twice because nothing was happening and I thought if I died, the whole bullying thing would stop.”

Mr Whitmore’s mother Cathilee Whitmore said she complained to the principal, Christopher Lloyd, about the bullying many times, but nothing happened.

After her son’s suicide attempt left him in a psychiatric ward, Ms Whitmore was forced to take out an intervention order against her young Nathan’s tormentor.

Legal action has now been taken, with Mr Whitmore’s solicitor James Brett Young arguing that schools owe students a duty of care.

“Where this is breached, an institution may be held liable for the damage and may be compelled to compensate those who've been harmed,” he told the ABC.

“Schools are responsible for a providing students with safe and supportive educational environments and must ensure staff are appropriately trained to protect pupils from bullying and harassment.”

Mr Whitmore is also calling on Education Minister James Merlino to ensure there is at least counselling available for victims of school bullying.

A petition with this purpose on change.org has been signed over 15,000 times.

Premier Daniel Andrews says Nathan’s story is “sad”.

“The most important thing is that all of us have got to do better, we've got to work harder and make sure that every school is a safe place,” he said.

“I want every student to be valued for who they are and to be supported and be respected and to be able to attend school as part of a loving and caring environment where they can get the skills that they need to realise the unique potential that belongs to them.”

The court case begins not long after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull bent to the will of internal party politics, launching a review of an existing LGBTIQ education program.