Truancy hits record levels in England's schools

Telegraph, 25th March 2010

Pupils missed 1.05 per cent of school sessions due to ''unauthorised absence'' in 2008-09 - a 4 per cent rise from 1.01% in 2007-08, according to figures published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

This was a 44 per cent rise on 1996-97, when the truancy rate was 0.73 per cent.

The statistics show a jump in truancy rates in primary schools, with pupils missing 0.64 per cent of all half days, a 12 per cent increase on the previous year, when the figure stood at 0.57 per cent.