The council is confident bullying can be tackled in schools

Education officials are meeting with police, victim support workers and health officers to debate the issue.

The Childline charity says it has taken nearly 10,000 more calls nationally in the past year.

Cornwall's education department says some anti-bullying projects are already run very successfully.

'No blame'

Deputy Director Dean Ashton says pioneering projects, such as one at Sir James Smith's school in Camelford, are being expanded.

He said: "Every one of our schools has an anti-bullying strategy in place."

He added: "As others follow the pioneering work of Sir James Smith's, I think we can be increasingly confident that the issue of bullying will be better tacked across the whole county."

Sir James Smith's Community School operates its anti-bullying campaign on a 'no blame, open door' policy.

Caroline Bee, the school's pastoral care officer, says a survey of students carried out last year showed there were very few cases of bullying in the school.

She told BBC News Online: "As well as open access, we have a weekly ABC club (anti-bullying club) which is mainly used by the younger pupils.

"With the peer mentoring scheme, older students from Year 10 hang about in the playground with Year 7s, making sure things are fine and offering advice where they can."

Ms Bees says the school does not pretend bullying does not exist, but it is dealt with it as quickly as possible.

A spokesman for Childline says the number of calls received nationally about bullying from April 2003 to March 2004 has risen from 21,866 to 31,077.