Forty-three per cent of Simcoe County District School Board students say they have been bullied at school, according to a recent survey.

The board survey, conducted in the winter and spring of 2007, asked students in Grades 4 through 12 their opinion on bullying, safety and overall school climate.

While 43 per cent said they had been bullied, 25 per cent of students reported bullying another student during the previous year.

“Now we know what we have to target and that is bringing those numbers down,” said trustee Caroline Smith.

The survey broke bullying down in to three categories: verbal, physical and electronic.

Trustees and board staff were surprised that only five per cent of elementary students and seven per cent of secondary students reported being bullied electronically.

“I am very surprised at those results,” said superintendent Lindy Zaretsky, who has written a paper on cyber bullying. “I question those numbers.”

The board plans to repeat the survey in the winter or spring of 2009 to monitor any change in student perceptions.

Zaretsky said the survey has shown that more work needs to be done in anti-bullying.

“This coming year you will be see a lot more integration into the curriculum program that speak to the issues,” she said. “We know a lot of kids are experiencing bullying … we have to address it in our instruction.”

The survey also showed that 88 per cent of elementary students and 81 per cent of secondary students feel safe at school.

Results showed that 86 per cent of students at both the elementary and secondary levels feel safe on their way to school.

The survey found that 95 per cent of elementary students, and 85 per cent of secondary students felt student safety is important.

The survey also looked at overall perceptions of school climate, links between school climate and achievement and extra-curricular participation.