More than one pupil a week is being excluded from Bexley schools for racist behaviour, new data has shown.

Pupils being removed from school for racial abuse, bullying or slurs shot up 81 per cent in the past year, according to government statistics.

Last year, there were 56 exclusions for racism – compared to 31 the year before.

Compared to the earliest available data, which is for 2009/10, there has been a shocking increase of more than 210 per cent.

The exclusions could be racist bullying, graffiti or derogatory remarks.

A Bexley Council spokesman said the exclusions show how seriously racism is taken in the borough.

He said: “Out of the 43,000 children that attend a Bexley school there were 56 events where pupils received a fixed-term exclusion in the school year 2016/17 for some form of racist abuse.

“Although this is a relatively small number, these exclusions reflect the strong message that we and our schools give about the inappropriateness of racist comments and how seriously they take this kind of behaviour.”

The number of exclusions for racist behaviours has steadily increased over the last three years.

Earlier this year, councillors blasted a rise in “vile hate crimes” in the borough since Brexit, with one councillor admitting he has had abuse hurled at him since the vote in 2016.

Overall exclusions are also on the increase in Bexley’s schools, rising to 2,263 in 2016-17 – the equivalent of six a day.

Last year there were also 31 exclusions for sexual misconduct, an increase of 13 on the year before.

The trend in exclusions mirrors the national picture, which has seen a sharp increase in recent years.

A recent report from MPs said the current system meant too many pupils are being pushed out of mainstream classes in England and are being “abandoned”.

MPs warned schools risked “forgetting” the rising numbers of children being excluded.

Last month, Robert Halfon MP, chairman of the education committee, said: “Parents and pupils face a system which isn’t designed for their needs, too often being left to a Wild West of exclusions with too many pupils in an alternative provision who shouldn’t be there, and those who are there not receiving the right support or the early intervention needed to make a difference to their lives.”