THE number of violent attacks reported in the playgrounds and classrooms of Redbridge rose last year, despite an overall drop in crime.

Figures obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act show the number of burglaries, robberies, sexual assaults and incidents of criminal damage in the borough's schools and colleges have all fallen compared with last year's total.

But reported cases of violent crime have gone up from 64 to 73, while the number of those caught with drugs has risen from two to four.

The statistics, compiled by the police between August 2008 and July 2009 and compared with the same timespan the previous year, do not reveal in which schools the alleged crimes occurred.

In total, there were 251 police call-outs to schools in Redbridge over the past 12 months, a drop from 283 cases the previous year.

These included 36 for attacks which resulted in injuries, 47 for burglaries and 90 for thefts.

There were also nine reported sexual assaults, which include all types of sexual offence except for rape. However in many cases no further action was taken, and in those that were convictions were not secured in every case.

Earlier this month a 15-year-old teen was cleared of an alleged sexual assault on another pupil in an Ilford school, with jurors finding no evidence to support the claims.

New figures from the Government's Department for Children, Schools and Families also reveal that approximately 50 students were permanently excluded from Redbridge's secondary schools in the 2007/08 year.

The Government figures also state that a further ten pupils were permanently excluded from the borough's primary schools in the same period, but this figure appears to have been rounded up. The council say the actual number excluded was seven.