Some college students were left in tears when one of the first things they had to do was reveal whether they were gay or straight - and whether they had undergone a sex swap operation.

The 16 and 17-year-olds at Barnsley College were asked to fill in enrolment forms which included innocent questions about age, address, contact details and next of kin.

But they were also asked to indicate their sexual orientation by ticking one of the following boxes: bisexual, gay man, gay woman/lesbian, heterosexual, transsexual or 'prefer not to say'.

Many were unhappy and also asked why such a personal question had to be on the front of the form - which carried pupils' names - rather than on a separate form which could have been filled in anonymously.

Kelsey Bennett, 16, said: "You did feel under pressure to tick a box and then if you ticked 'prefer not to say', it might make people question why you've done that."

Connor Hewitt, 16, said the college shouldn't be pinning students down on their sexuality, adding: "I don't get why they need to know."

Ray Sanchez, 16, was surprised to see the question on the front of the form as it wasn't very discreet. "It was odd because it was in amongst a jumble of basic questions you expect like contact details and ethnicity."

A college spokeswoman said it was a way of monitoring success of the following 'protected characteristic' groups: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.