2 hours Ago By [email protected] (Matt Lee)
An historic grammar school in Essex has been identified as having the best attendance rate in the country. Colchester Royal Grammar School was named as the school with the lowest absence rate. Nationally, the number of unauthorised absences at state-run secondary schools has more than doubled since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Just 1.5% of school sessions - defined as half a day of school per pupil - were missed due to unauthorised absences in the autumn and spring terms of the 2018/19 academic year. That rose to three per cent in 2022/23 and reached 3.
2% in 2023/24 according to the latest official figures. But the rates at some schools are far higher than at others. READ MORE Men charged with the murder of Chelmsford dad stay silent as they appear in court ALSO READ: The Essex area where 'spy cameras' are set to be rolled out to catch flytippers red handed The new figures showed that at Colchester Royal Grammar School there was not a single school session that was missed due to unauthorised absences.
The selective school, which counts a number of distinguished personalities as alumni, ranked top of the standings for the lowest unauthorised absence rate. Colchester Royal Grammar School was graded Good by Ofsted inspectors in 2023. The watchdog said there had been a "positive cultural change" after a brief period in which they had been graded as requiring improvement.
"The academic achievements of the boarders are exceptional," the school's Ofsted report said . "Boarders primarily go on to study at university after leaving the school. Several boarders have gone on to Oxford University and Cambridge University.
" Previous alumni include Jan Pinkava who co-wrote the story for Oscar-winning film Ratatouille. Bertram Ramsay, the Royal Navy officer responsible for the Dunkirk evacuation, also attended the school. Colchester Royal Grammar School came out on top across Essex as achieving the best A Level results .
Students at the selective school, on Lexden Road, had an average grade of A and almost three quarters (74.2%) of all students achieved AAB or higher. There were also honourable mentions for Southend High School for Boys, Colchester County High School for Girls, Westcliff High School for Girls, Davenant Foundation School, Chelmsford County High School for Girls and Westcliff High School for Boys Academy where the percentage of sessions that were unauthorised absences was zero.
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