The pupils of Benedict Biscop CE Primary School in Sunderland welcomed the city school's mascot, Spike, to help get the party started.

Pupils at the Moorside school clocked up 96.9 per cent attendance during the "Don't miss school, don't miss out" campaign. It was run across Wearside earlier this month to encourage more children to attend class regularly.

Natalie Fountain, deputy head at the school, said: "We were really delighted to win for the best attendance. Our attendance is usually very good, but for the time of the campaign it was exceptional, which was great."

The celebration was organised by Sunderland City Council's "Every Schoolday Counts" attendance team.

The whole school was involved, and every child who achieved full attendance had the chance to win something from Spike's tombola prize draw.

The prizes included scooters, bubble blasters, guitars, keyboards, board games and magic writers.

Raj Singh, extended services manager for children's services with Sunderland City Council, said: "Each of the schools involved really embraced this campaign – Sunderland already has a superb reputation for attendance, but it's excellent to see the city's schools and pupils pushing their success even further.

"Positive attendance is essential in maintaining and improving attainment, so it's fantastic that everyone is really making a conscious effort to attend school as often as possible."

Throughout the campaign all Sunderland children, from reception classes to Year 6, were encouraged to make it into school each day.

Improvements in school attendance levels have been shown to boost achievement and attainment, reducing school exclusion, improving transition between key stages and decreasing youth crime and the potential for social exclusion.