Fewer pupils are skipping school than ever before, according to new figures published today.

Of the 32,520 pupils in Havering, 4.6 per cent (1,480) had 38 or more days off in the 2013/14 school year - down from 5.2pc the previous year.

When records started in 2006, the figure was 8.5pc (2,730 of 32,170 pupils).

The figures echo a national trend. The overall rate of absence has dropped by more than a quarter since 2009/10, from 6pc to 4.4pc – again the lowest level since records began.

School Reform Minister Nick Gibb said the plan was to get “more young people than ever back in class.”

He added: “Missing lessons can be hugely damaging to a pupil’s education – but today’s figures show more pupils than ever before are getting the best preparation for life in modern Britain.

Barking and Dagenham had 4.1pc, (1,270 of 31,195 pupils) missing 38 or more days, while Redbridge had a lower 3.4pc, (1,410 of 41,300).

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