Leeds parents likely won’t be surprised to learn that some of the city’s top performing schools also have some of the best rates of children showing up for class.
Last week, the Government released its latest absence and attendance figures, covering the full 2023/24 school year. Despite showing a small improvement on the year before, the overall absence rate - the percentage of half-days missed for all pupils - still lingered well above pre-pandemic figures. One in five pupils were also labelled ‘persistently absent’, meaning they are missing at least 10% of these half-day sessions.
Another new Department for Education report has highlighted just how much it could be impacting these young people’s attainment. It found that pupils who attended school nearly every day in Year 11 were almost twice as likely to achieve a Grade 5 in their English and Maths GCSEs, compared to those who only attended 90 to 95% of the time. This means that missing just 10 days of school reduced the likelihood of getting a strong pass by around 50%.
Included with the Government’s attendance figures was the absence data for each state-funded secondary school in England. This meant we were able to see which schools had the country’s lowest overall absence rates, as well as the top schools in Yorkshire as a whole for attendance.
With more than 40 state secondary schools in Leeds alone - excluding private and special schools - we’ve also taken a look at how the city council area’s schools fared when it came to pupils attending class, and making the most of their education. We’ve only included those with absence rates below 7.5% - a fantastic achievement for school communities and families alike.
Here were the 11 local secondary schools that made the cut:
1. Abbey Grange Church of England Academy
At the top of the list is Abbey Grange, a high-performing Anglican secondary school and sixth form in the West Park area, with a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score off the back of last year’s GCSE exam season. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an absence rate of just 5.04%. | Google
2. Mount St Mary's Catholic High School
Mount St Mary’s is a Catholic secondary school in the East End Park area. Another high performer, it too had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score last year. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an absence rate of 5.23%. | Google
3. Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School
Cardinal Heenan is a Catholic secondary school in Meanwood, with another ‘well above average’ GCSE performance. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an absence rate of 5.65%. | Google
4. Trinity Academy Leeds
Trinity Academy is a fairly new secondary school, in the Burmantofts area. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an absence rate of 6.05%. | Google
5. Horsforth School
This is a high-achieving secondary school and sixth form in Horsforth, in the northwestern reaches of the city. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an absence rate of 6.12%. | Google
6. Roundhay School
This is an all-through school in the Roundhay area, which boasts strong performance figures from its primary school pupils all the way through to its sixth form students. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an absence rate of 6.26%. | Google