Two North East secondary schools feature among England's top 20 for the highest rates of unauthorised absence, according to newly released Department for Education figures. Studio West in Newcastle upon Tyne recorded a rate of 10.6%, while Washington Academy in Sunderland reached 10.4% during the autumn and spring terms of 2025/26.
Nearly 12 million days missed
Nationally, unauthorised absences accounted for roughly 2.9% of school sessions in state-funded secondary schools across England during those two terms. That figure has dipped slightly over the past two years but remains about twice as high as before the pandemic, amounting to around 11.7 million missed school days.
Of those days, approximately 1.1 million were lost to term-time holidays and lateness, while the vast majority—9.3 million days—were attributed to "other" reasons. These include family events, shopping trips, car trouble, and, most commonly, students skipping school without their parents' knowledge or permission.
Highest and lowest rates
The Co-op Academy in Leeds recorded the highest rate of unauthorised absence at 14.4%, nearly five times the national average. In contrast, Bishop Thomas Grant Catholic Secondary School in Lambeth reported almost no unauthorised absences, with a rate of just 0.03%.
The data shows a strong link between economic deprivation and higher rates of unauthorised absenteeism. Secondary school pupils on free school meals missed more than three times as much school for unauthorised reasons as those not eligible for the scheme—6.0% compared to 1.7%.
Impact on GCSE results
The report identified unauthorised secondary school absences as the main factor widening the "disadvantage gap" in academic achievement. It noted that such absences have a far greater impact on GCSE results than authorised time off, and that absence rates have accelerated rapidly since the pandemic.
