That was the highest rate out of 32 local authorities and twice the national average of 60 exclusions per 1000 pupils.

The city council has taken a hard line over discipline in recent years and this is not the first time it has topped the exclusion list.

Education convener Kevin Keenan said, “The city council continues to take discipline in its schools extremely seriously and we are committed to improving the situation through the implementation of our managing behaviour guidelines.”

These rules came into force in 2006 and encourage head teachers to deal with unacceptable behaviour as firmly as possible, threatening to call in the police or use anti-social behaviour laws if needed.

Mr Keenan went on, “Exclusion is used where necessary among a range of measures. We are well aware of the impact unacceptable behaviour can have in the classroom for teachers and other pupils who just want to get on with their lessons.

“Pupils and staff deserve our full support to continue the hard work they do in our schools every day.

“We are looking at new ways in which positive behaviour can be promoted and rewarded to act as an incentive to the vast majority of our pupils who are hard-working and conscientious.

“Our schools work hard to improve the behaviour of pupils who have been excluded and this includes full discussions with parents before the pupil is brought back to school.”

The number of exclusions in Dundee — and across the country generally — has been on an upward trend. The number of incidents in Dundee has risen by 27% since 1999/00.

But today’s figures from the Scottish Executive also show that exclusions are used far less in Dundee’s neighbouring authorities, all of which came in below the national average.

Angus excluded 38 pupils per 1000 — putting it in the bottom third of local authorities — while Fife’s rate was 56 per 1000 and Perth and Kinross 56 per 1000.

Across Scotland there were just under 43,000 pupils excluded, a rise of 2% on the previous year. Almost all bans were temporary — typically lasting a week or less — and only 263 pupils were permanently removed from a school’s roll.

Education minister Hugh Henry said, “Excluding a pupil is always a last resort and never a decision a head teacher takes lightly. However, it’s right they have recourse to this ultimate sanction when they feel it is necessary.

“Pupils may be excluded for a range of reasons, including violent behaviour, but just 3% of pupils were excluded in the past year. Violence is always unacceptable but it’s important to keep this in perspective. Our schools are not battlegrounds and the vast majority of pupils are well-behaved.”

Some pupils were sent home more than once during the year, so the number of individual children excluded is lower than the total number of incidents recorded.

For example, in Dundee there were 166 primary pupils excluded and 905 secondary pupils, along with one pupil from a special needs school. They were absent for a total of almost 14,000 half-days.

Nationally, girls accounted for 22% of exclusions, up from 19% at the start of the decade.