• During 2006/07 there were 44,794 exclusions from local authority schools in Scotland, an increase of four per cent from 2005/06. The number of exclusions has risen each year since 2002/03. About 22,800 different pupils (three per cent of pupils) were excluded during the year.
• Overall, male pupils accounted for 78 per cent of exclusions, the same as 2005/06. The proportion has decreased from 81 per cent in 1999/2000.
• There were 6,018 exclusions from local authority primary schools, 13 per cent of the total, and equivalent to 16 exclusions per 1,000 pupils. The number is a four per cent increase from 5,779 exclusions in 2005/06.