ALMOST 1300 racist incidents have taken place in Scotland's schools in the last two years, according to new figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats.

The figures show there were 730 incidents in primary schools, with a further 544 taking place in secondary schools across 2011 and 2012.

The party was only able to obtain figures from a total of three-quarters of Scottish local authorities, with Scotland's largest council, Glasgow City Council, being one of those that did not provide information.

The party's education spokesman, Liam McArthur, said the shocking statistics showed that Scotland still had "a long way to go" in tackling racism.