The Scottish Tories said classroom violence was getting worse

Figures obtained by the Scottish Tories under the Freedom of Information Act show there were 2,224 assaults in 2004/05 and 2,768 the following year.

Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie told the first minister the 24.5% rise was "truly alarming".

But Jack McConnell said the majority of schoolchildren were well behaved and educational attainment was improving.

The figures suggested there were 5,390 incidents of teacher assaults, verbal abuse and attacks on school property in 2004/05. This rose to 6,175 last year.

The growing problem of indiscipline in our schools is truly alarming Annabel Goldie Scottish Tory leader

During first minister's questions, Ms Goldie said: "Attacks on school staff are up a horrific 14% in one single year. Physical violence has increased by a shocking 25% in the same period.

"The growing problem of indiscipline in our schools is truly alarming."

The Tory leader called for the Scottish Executive to publish annual statistics on classroom violence - "however bad the figures are".

However, Mr McConnell said: "The vast majority of Scottish schoolchildren are well behaved and the vast majority of Scottish classrooms are orderly classrooms, where results are improving and educational attainment is on the increase."

He added that the executive was providing both on-site and off-site centres for disruptive pupils.

Expel pupils

Earlier, Tory education spokesman Lord James Douglas-Hamilton had branded violent and disruptive students as being "probably the greatest problem facing Scotland's schools".

Speaking during a debate on education, he accused ministers of failing to "get a grip on the problem".

The MSP said headteachers needed greater powers to permanently expel the worst pupils.

But Mr McConnell insisted that was "another Tory misrepresentation".

'Manage schools'

He said: "It is not the case that teachers cannot exclude children from the classroom, it is not the case that those exclusions have any time limit upon them, apart from that designated by the school or the local authority.

"The teachers in Scotland and headteachers and local authorities have the right to manage their schools and manage their classrooms and make sure that disruption is properly tackled."

The Scottish National Party argued that the way to tackle the problem of classroom indiscipline was cutting class sizes.

SNP education spokeswoman Fiona Hyslop said: "Teachers tell us that the single biggest thing to help tackle indiscipline is to cut class sizes."

But she claimed ministers were "way behind" in meeting those targets.