Record number of city pupils are missing over half of school lessons

A record number of school pupils in Sunderland are missing more than half of classes, new figures show.

- by Echo Reporter

Figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show 978 pupils in the city were classed as being 'severely absent' in this school year's autumn and spring terms-meaning they missed at least half of their school sessions.

In all they accounted for 2.8% of students in the area - up slightly from 2.7% in the same terms during the 2023-24 school year and the highest rate since records began in 2016-17.

In addition 19.7% of students in the city were classed as 'persistently absent' - meaning they missed 10% or more of sessions-although this was down from 23.6%.

Nationally, the rate of 'persistently absent' students stood at 17.6% in 2024-25-down on the 19.2% a year earlier.

However, the number of 'severely absent' students increased to 2.3%-up from 2.1% the year before.