Search: School arson figures
Police officers were called to schools to deal with reported arson attacks almost 3,000 times in the past two years, according to new figures released by the Tories.
Shadow schools secretary Michael Gove said the statistics were "deeply worrying".
Ministers said they were working with the Arson Prevention Bureau to cut the number of arson attacks on schools.
The Tories asked every police force in the UK under a Freedom Of Information request how many times in the last two years they had been notified, or called out for an arson attack on school property. There were 2,702 recorded incidents according to figures from the 42 of 49 police authorities who responded.
It is not know how many of the attacks were carried out by pupils.
Mr Gove said: "The large number of arson attacks, on top of all the other problems in schools, is deeply worrying.
"A Conservative government would give teachers the powers they need to deal with violence and remove disruptive pupils.
"We would also give headteachers the power to ban any items they think may cause violence or disruption and abolish the current Government guidance which tells teachers not to search children who refuse to be searched."
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Children's minister Delyth Morgan said heads have already been given the power to search pupils for weapons, and the Apprenticeships Children, Skills and Learning Bill making its way through Parliament would give them additional rights to search for alcohol, drugs and stolen property.
She said: "We are working with the Arson Prevention Bureau to cut the number of arson attacks on schools and local Fire and Rescue services also run schemes which target vandals or those showing an unhealthy interest in starting fires."
