Fewer pupils skipping school

THE number of Oldham pupils who persistently miss lessons has dropped to its lowest recorded level.

During the autumn 2013 and spring 2014 terms, 1,460 pupils - 4.2 per cent of the total number - missed 38 or more school sessions and were classed as “persistent absentees”.

This is a drop from the 5.3 per cent recorded for autumn 2012 and spring 2013, and is less than half that of autumn 2006 and spring 2007, when the rate reached 8.9 per cent.

Current Oldham levels are also slightly better than the national average, which dropped to 4.4 per cent over the period, the lowest level since comparable records began in 2006.

Across Greater Manchester, the highest level of persistent absentees was 4.4 per cent in Salford and Manchester, while Trafford was lowest at 2.6 per cent.

The news follows a tightening up of rules on term-time holidays by the Government in an attempt to stop children missing lessons unnecessarily.