Children should not be encouraged to be "clever" at school because it is uncool, a Rayleigh teacher has told a national conference.

Instead, youngsters should be told they are "successful", in an effort to encourage pupils to try harder in lessons without the stigma of being the teacher's pet.

The bold statement was made by Sweyne Park School teacher Simon Smith during his speech at the Professional Association of Teachers conference, in Oxford.

Mr Smith, who is also a Conservative councillor on Rochford District Council, said: "I am sorry to say that at the moment a culture has developed that mocks being clever.

"We should fight against it. Change the language we use - change something.

"Clever suggests to me a pure academic ability, passing exams at A grades. This is how pupils see things. If we were to use the word successful rather than clever, we could all achieve it at our own level and in our own way."

He said later: "I have heard when a child has put their hand up in class to answer a question there have been cat calls from their classmates.

"That would not make a child feel good about learning."

Mr Smith also believed the culture of dimwitted celebrities becoming rich and famous on reality television shows like Big Brother was giving out the message children do not need to work hard to be successful.

He said: "These people make a lot about being important and famous, but do not have a lot about them. These programmes are influential in children's lives.

"These celebrities can be pretty stupid, but they have got a nice Porsche and children see that."

A spokesman for Samaritans admitted children contacted the organisation because they were bullied by classmates for being clever.

He said: "The sad fact is people get bullied for a whole lot of reasons, one of which is jealousy. If someone is known to be cleverer than their classmate, they may get picked on.

"It would be sad if people could not feel proud about being clever and feel they have to hide it."