More than a third of pupils who have been bullied believe their school dealt with it badly or not very well, according to new figures.

A new report shows that one in six pupils are experiencing bullying - with the majority of incidents taking place inside schools.

The Department for Education has produced a report on bullying of 10- to 15-year-olds over the past five years, based on an analysis of the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

The data reveals that 35 per cent of pupils who have been bullied were not happy with the way their school dealt with the situation.

The figures show that pupils who are the victims of bullying are less likely to think that schools deal with the problem effectively.

Overall, 72 per cent of pupils believe schools deal with bullying well or quite well, but this figure falls to 61 per cent among bullied pupils.

The analysis also shows that girls are more likely to be bullied than boys. Boys are more likely to suffer physical bullying and girls are more likely to suffer cyberbullying.

In 2017-18, more than one in five girls (21 per cent) were bullied, compared with 14 per cent of boys.

The figures follow a poll published last week, which claimed that the equivalent of one child in every classroom reports being bullied face-to-face, or online, every day over the past six months. 

The new report by the Department for Education also shows that white pupils were significantly more likely to be bullied than non-white respondents to the survey (18 per cent, compared with 13 per cent).

The survey looked at bullying of pupils aged 10-15 and found that incidents decreased the older pupils got, with 22 per cent of 10-year-olds reporting bullying, compared with 8 per cent of 15-year-olds.

The analysis also found that pupils with a long-term illness or disability, those who had truanted from school, been excluded, were living in rental accommodation and/or were from a one-parent family were all more likely to experience bullying.

The Department for Education also said that pupils were more likely to experience bullying outside of London.

The report has been published today at the start of Anti-Bullying Week. The campaign, run by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, helps schools to tackle the issue.