Any kind of bullying is abhorrent and anything that is reported at school is followed up by Head of House, and action taken.
Sexual bullying does tend to take a higher profile, but I'm not sure that's always justfied. Earlier this year in one of my classes a girl pinched a boy's bum. She was put in isolation for the day for that. Obviously it's not acceptable, but name-calling can be just as malicious and damaging, if not more so.
I wouldn't claim our school - or any - has found the magic solution though. It's always going to be a problem.
I think it is good though to bear in mind that a lot of name-calling at secondary school is 'silly' rather than 'nasty' and if the victims can regard it as such that is probably positive.
Unfortunately, in every school, there are some children who - for a variety of reasons - become victims of nasty bullying over a prolonged period and from a number of individuals. If this isn't nipped in the bud promptly and completely then it can continue in some forms for many many years, and can have an impact on the victim for life.
As parents I think the best things you can do to 'bully-proof' your child is to ensure their self-esteem is as high as possible. If they know that they are a good person, that you love them unconditionally, then it will be harder for any potential bullies to score and 'easy blow' and therefore persist and make their life miserable.
As professional staff obviously we have a duty to deal with all incidents of bullying that we witness or are informed of.