My first piece of advice would be the fact that you should report any and all instances of harassment by other colleagues (no matter the reason for which you are harassed in the first place) to the proper authorities -- such as teachers, the principal, the school counselor (if there is one), or, ultimately, if you feel that your well-being is truly endangered, to the police. All of these individuals are there for a reason - to protect the students and to keep such actions of hate from happening or to minimize their effects. You do not necessarily need to confirm if the rumor of your sexual orientation is true - in the eyes of the law, such a thing should ultimately be irrelevant. The factor that urgently needs to be addressed is the fact that you were physically harmed by someone else and that you did nothing in order to instigate this action.
I was the victim of a brutal beating two years ago, at the hands of a couple of colleagues, who, based upon my appearance, decided that I was a lesbian (something not very far from the truth, but I digress...) and that I needed to be taught a lesson in normalcy. After the whole thing, I went straight to the principal's office and then to the police. Those individuals were accused with premeditated assault and expelled from the school, in order to be sent to a much more strict and controlled institution. In the end, I prevailed simply because I utterly refused to bow my head, to accept my circumstances and allow my right to human dignity to be taken away by such... barbarians, for lack of a better word.
Secondly, if you do not feel truly safe at your school and you can logically assume that the situation could take a turn for the worse, I'd say that staying quiet is the best option (not a very satisfying one, I know, but, sometimes, listening to our instincts can save us from a great deal of grief).
Thirdly, about your family... If you truly trust your mother and feel secure enough with the knowledge that she would accept your sexuality without too much difficulty, I think it would be safe to have a nice, long chat with her about everything that you've gotten so used to hiding from the eyes of the world -- it would certainly lift a weight from your chest, the same way that it did for me. There is no written rule stating that you need to come out to both parents at the same time, if you do not wish to do so - sometimes it can be easier if the process is a gradual one, beginning with the parent that you find to be the most open-minded about such matters and moving forward from there.
These would be my token five cents to the topic. I'm still learning a great deal myself -- about the reactions of others, about my own fears, worries - so I can't say that I'm an extremely knowledgeable person in this field. Just one who has, more or less, gone through a great deal of the stages that you have as well. *smiles*
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Fear is not the natural state of civilized people.
-- Aung San Suu Kyi
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