TODAY the Oxford Mail can reveal the shocking extent of crimes reported on school grounds across the county.

Police were called to more than 400 reports of crimes at Oxfordshire school sites in the past three years.

They include allegations of rape, sexual assault, grievous bodily harm, possession of drugs and weapons.

Other crimes investigated by police include racially aggravated assault, abuse of trust and voyeurism. The most common offence reported was actual bodily harm, with 108 reports in three years.

Approximately a third of the offences were reported on school grounds in the city, though the exact schools cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Headteachers said they were “surprised” by the figures and found them “scary”.

Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show there were 412 reported crimes on school grounds in the county between January 2009 and December 2011.

Thames Valley Police did not provide details of how many of those reports resulted in charges or convictions.

Two of the most serious reports were of the rape of a boy under 13 in 2010 and rape of a girl aged 16 or over in 2011.

There were also 11 reports of sexual assaults, including eight in 2010.

In total there were 97 reported crimes in 2009. This rose to 183 in 2010, before dropping to 132 reports last year.

Thames Valley Police refused to reveal where the reported rapes took place.

And when asked about why the public were not informed, Chief Superintendent Tim De Meyer told the Oxford Mail he did not believe it was “in the public interest” to share all crimes with the media.

He added: “I think the extent to which police publish crime should be on a case to case basis. Where it is in the public interest and witnesses are required to it then, of course, we should publicise it.

“But if it involves only a couple of people and it is of a sensitive nature affecting young people, it is not in the public interest to do so.”

The rape of a pupil aged 16 and over was reported at school, but was about an incident which occured off school grounds.

The rape against a boy under 13 was a historic case dating back to 1985. All these incidents resulted in someone being charged and taken to court.

Eight sexual assaults reported in 2010 were all by one offender on eight different pupils.

The Oxford Mail approached a number of schools for their opinion on the statistics.

Wallingford School headteacher Wyll Willis said: “I took a sharp intake of breath when I heard this. Those figures sound scary.

“Occasionally you get a mobile phone going missing or something like that, but we always find out who took it and deal with it here.”

Oxford Spires Academy principal Sue Croft said: “I am very surprised.

“I would say most of the time, schools have more power than police. Exclusion can be much more powerful than a long wait for something to go through the courts.”

The police did not provide details of whether the offences were committed by or against pupils or teachers Gawain Little, secretary of the Oxfordshire branch of the National Union of Teachers, said the union dealt with cases of teachers being assaulted.

He said: “This is another of the big difficulties facing teachers today. They should be protected from facing those problems.”

He said all cases of assault in schools were recorded by Oxfordshire County Council.

Council spokesman Paul Smith said there was a support mechanism in place for any children affected by crime, through school counselling or other outside agencies.