Chronic absenteeism can unsurprisingly have quite an impact on a young person’s education.
The 2024/25 school year’s summer exam season is now in session. But just how well secondary school pupils do in their GCSEs can be influenced by their attendance, a recent Department for Education report shows.
It found that pupils who attended school nearly every day in Year 11 were almost twice as likely to achieve a Grade 5 in their core English and Maths GCSEs, compared to those who only attended 90 to 95% of the time. This means that missing just 10 days of school reduced the likelihood of getting a strong pass by around 50%.
The Government’s full absence and attendance figures for the 2023/24 school year are out now. Despite showing a small improvement on the year before, the overall absence rate - the percentage of half-days missed for all pupils - still lingers well above pre-pandemic figures. One in five pupils were also labelled ‘persistently absent’, meaning they are losing out on at least 10% of these half-day sessions.
We’ve taken a closer look at all of the state-funded secondary schools across the Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County council areas - excluding private and special schools - to see how they measure up when it comes to their overall absences. Local families may also notice that many were also amongst the county’s highest performers when it comes to GCSEs.
Here are the 12 Nottinghamshire schools with the lowest absence rates:
9. The Minster School
The Minster School is an Anglican academy that takes pupils from the age of 7 through to the end of the sixth form. It is in Southwell, in the Newark and Sherwood district, and is a high academic performer across all age groups that it teaches. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 6.81%. | Google
10. Toot Hill School
Toot Hill is a secondary academy and sixth form in Bingham, with an ‘above average’ Progress 8 score. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 7.05%. | Google
11. The National CofE Academy
This is an Anglican secondary academy and sixth form in Hucknall. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 7.09%. | Google
12. All Saints' Catholic Voluntary Academy
Rounding out the list is All Saints, a Catholic secondary academy and sixth form in Mansfield, with another ‘above average’ Progress 8 score. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 7.17%. | Google