THE vast majority of school bullying still takes place in traditional settings such as the playground despite the rise of online threats, a new survey shows.

According to the poll, nearly one third of Scottish children said they had been bullied in the past year, but only 20 per cent of incidents involved cyberbullying alone.

Brian Donnelly, director of the Scottish anti-bullying charity Respectme, said: "I think the finding that the majority of bullying did not take place online should help schools, parents and the wider community make sure they maintain a focus on all types of bullying, both bullying that happens in person and online.

"We will continue to work with the Scottish Government to further analyse the survey findings that will influence policy, training and resources to help adults make a real difference to the lives of children and young people."

The Respectme survey featured an online questionnaire distributed to all schools in Scotland in May and June this year. There were a total of 8,310 responses from pupils aged between eight and 19.

Some 30 per cent of children reported being bullied in the last school year, with 60 per cent happening offline, 21 per cent on and offline and 19 per cent online only. More than 90 per cent of respondents reporting bullying said they knew the person bullying them.

Alasdair Allan, minister for learning, said the survey was the first time figures were available highlighting the impact of bullying on Scotland's young people.

He said: "Though it does not offer a direct comparison, a previous report for the UK Government showed that just under half of those questioned said they have experienced bullying, so this would indicate a step in the right direction, but it is still too high a number of young people being targeted.

"Preventing bullying - in person or online - is a priority for us all and we will ensure that the lessons learned from this ground-breaking survey will be used to further develop our anti-bullying policies."