During exam season, student absences can significantly affect academic performance. In Leicestershire, many of the top-performing schools in last year’s GCSEs also had strong attendance records. A Department for Education report found that students with near-perfect attendance in Year 11 were almost twice as likely to earn a Grade 5 in English and Maths compared to those with 90–95% attendance. Despite this, national absence rates remain high post-pandemic, with 1 in 5 pupils classified as persistently absent. A list has been compiled of 14 local schools with absence rates of 7% or lower, highlighting those excelling in both attendance and achievement. We are delighted that English Martyrs School features in a news article from The Harborough Mail—out of 14 secondary schools in the East Midlands, we came second for attendance and had one of the lowest persistent absence rates.

The link to the newspaper article can be found below

The 14 Leicestershire secondary schools with the lowest absences