Why is good attendance important?

While an attendance figure of 90% may not sound very low, research in 2016 showed it reduces a child's chance of achieving 5+ 5-9 grades at GCSE from 81% to around 57%. A child who averages 80% attendance during their secondary school career effectively misses one whole year of education and significantly reduces their chances of good grades.

Even for high-achieving students poor attendance has a significant negative impact on their grades. It has been shown that missing just 17 days of school in Year 11 reduces final GCSE grades by one level across all subjects. This could easily be sufficient to prevent a student getting on to the sixth-form course and ultimately the university or career of their choice.

We understand that sometimes children are genuinely ill and of course you must be the judge of this. However, there may be other factors which are causing reluctance to come to school and, if you believe this is the case, please contact us. We will do all we can to help.