Regular school attendance is vital to pupils making the most of their education - and it can have a bug impact on GCSEs too.
The official state school absence and attendance figures, covering the full 2023/24 school year, have now been released. Despite 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 missed at least 10% of these half-day sessions.
With this year’s secondary school exam season in full swing, the importance of attendance is drawn into sharper focus than ever. A recent Department for Education report found that pupils who attended school nearly every day in Year 11 were almost twice as likely to achieve a Grade 5 in their English and Maths GCSEs as those who only attended 90 to 95% of the time. This means missing just 10 days of school reduces the likelihood of getting a strong pass by around 50%.
We’ve taken a closer look at how state-funded secondary schools in the Northumberland County Council area did, when it came to absences for any reason over the last school year. It is worth noting that along with private and special schools, we’ve excluded middle schools. All-through schools, however, have been included on the list so long as they cover Key Stage 4 - when pupils sit their GCSEs - but their attendance data may also include primary-aged pupils.
Here were the 10 Northumberland secondary schools that boasted the lowest absences last year:
1. Ponteland High School
At the top of the list is this secondary academy and sixth form in Ponteland. A generally strong academic performer, last year it had a positive GCSEs-based Progress 8 score. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a low overall absence rate of just 6.76%. | Google
2. Bede Academy
Next up is Bede, an all-through Christian academy in Blyth. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 6.77%. | Google
3. Bedlington Academy
This is a secondary academy and sixth form in Bedlington. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of about 8.5%. | Google
4. Ashington Academy
This is an academically high-performing secondary academy and sixth form in Ashington. It boasted a high ‘above average’ Progress 8 score last year, one of the highest in Northumberland. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 8.81%. | Google