The most recently published attendance data from the Department for Education shows that that on average, in the last academic year, more than three in ten secondary school children in Sunderland were “persistently absent from school”.
The figures, which were published at the end of May, showed for the academic year 2021/22, 31.9% of secondary school children had an absence rate of 10% or more - the benchmark for persistent absence.
This compares to 27.7% nationally.
Persistent absence is the percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of the mornings or afternoons they could attend.
Overall absence rates in Sunderland secondary schools were also above the national average with 10.2% of all possible mornings and afternoons missed by children compared to 9% across England.
It's a situation which "concerns" Sunderland City Council’s new Cabinet Member for Children, Learning and Skills, Councillor Linda Williams who stressed the Council will "use a range of legal sanctions available to secure improvement" in attendance levels across the city.
Links between pupil attendance and attainment could not be more stark with the most recent DfE report showing 83.7% of pupils who missed no sessions in Year 10 and 11 attained GCSE grades 9 to 4 in English and maths compared to 35.6% of pupils who were persistently absent.
As well as publishing attendance data for the city as a whole, persistent and overall absence figures for the last academic year have also been released for individual schools.
Here is a breakdown of the data for Sunderland secondary schools listed in order of schools with the least persistent absences to those with the most.
1. Secondary School absence rate
Check out the persistent and overall absence rates for secondary schools in Sunderland. | National World
2. St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College absence rates
St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College had a persistent absence rate of 18.3%, which is below the Local Authority average of 31.9% and the national average of 27.7%. Overall absence was 7% which is below the Local Authority average of 10.2% and the national average of 9% | Google Photo: Google
3. St Anthony's Girls Catholic Academy absence rates
St Anthony's Girls Catholic Academy had a persistent absence rate of 25.7%, which is below the Local Authority average of 31.9% and the national average of 27.7%. Overall absence was 8% which is below the Local Authority average of 10.2% and the national average of 9%. Photo: Frank Reid
4. St Aidan's Catholic Academy absence rates
St Aidan's Catholic Academy had a persistent absence rate of 27.1%, which is below the Local Authority average of 31.9% and the national average of 27.7%. Overall absence was 7.8% which is below the Local Authority average of 10.2% and the national average of 9%. | National World Photo: St Aidan's Catholic Academy