Nicola Sturgeon has strongly condemned an “appalling and sickening” video of a classroom attack on a schoolgirl in Fife.
The first minister said she had watched shocking footage of the horrendous assault which took place at Waid Academy in Anstruther last week.
The disturbing video, which The Courier chose not to publish, showed a girl hitting the 14-year-old victim before pulling her to the floor, punching her on the arm, and kicking her on the head.
Fears for the safety of pupils at Waid Academy were raised after it emerged another boy was knocked unconscious in a fight on the same day.
Ms Sturgeon was first quizzed on the horrific classroom attack during First Minister’s Questions last week where it was branded an “ugly scene”.
She committed to seeking out the footage and seeing it for herself.
At a media briefing today, the SNP leader confirmed she had seen the video and branded all forms of bullying as “unacceptable”.
She told The Courier: “I have watched the video from Waid Academy, and it is appalling and sickening.
“Bullying and violence is unacceptable whether it’s in a school, after the school day when pupils are on their way home, or frankly in any walk of life.”
On Friday, we revealed at least 70 public pages on social media sites had been set up for cyberbullying in Tayside and Fife.
Hundreds of bullying cases were recorded across Fife last year.
The first minister said violent incidents in school may now be more visible than they were in the past due to how easily they can be filmed.
‘Significant concern’
But she said bullying in Scotland’s schools is a “significant concern” and said her government will keep working with councils in charge of education to stamp it out.
She said: “We’ll continue to talk to local authorities about how we best support them to discharge their responsibilities.
“I think everybody across the country wants to see as much as possible done.”