The most recent of these incentives was a ‘Spring into School’ competition to celebrate students who achieved 100% attendance in the first four weeks after the Easter holidays. 325 out of the school’s 750 leaners achieved this target.   

Winners were drawn from each of the school’s five year groups, with each student receiving a £50 Amazon voucher. Taking the prize for Year 7 was Mia-Lily Scott, followed by Caroline Lamb (Year 8), Molly Hodgson (Year 9), Logan Finlay (Year 10) and Kai Newton-Arnott (Year 11).

Attendance Officer, Harriet Elvidge, said: “It was amazing to see 325 students achieve 100% attendance at the start of what is always a difficult and busy term. Congratulations to them all - in particular, our five overall winners. 

"There are basic steps we can all take to improve attendance, such as ensuring any medical appointments for students are made out of school hours, or that students return to school as soon as they feel better after an illness. All of these little changes have a big impact.

"It’s great to have the backing of the school’s governing body to help reward and recognise our students’ achievements. We are delighted that so many of our students recognise the importance of attendance and we are really pleased for our winners.”

As a key priority within the school’s SIP (School Improvement Plan) both the school’s leadership team and governing body are keen to embed a culture of celebrating and rewarding good attendance. As such, the governors have allocated funding throughout the current academic year to help promote, recognise and reward strong attendance.

Reflecting on this priority and the overall importance of attendance, Rebecca Pindar, Deputy Headteacher, said: “Improving attendance has always been a strategic priority for the school. We realise that parents and carers play a huge role in this and we work closely with families to ensure the importance of attending school is understood.

"The best place for a student to learn is in their classrooms, with their teachers and peers. We are also aware that for some students an absence, at times, is unavoidable.

"We have an ambitious target of 95% for whole school attendance and are working with students to achieve this goal. Every day that a student is absent is potentially a lost opportunity for learning. Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school and themselves. We believe it is important that all students attend regularly so that they maximise their educational opportunities and maintain their mental health. This is why improved attendance, and meeting individual or form group targets, is celebrated.”

To put the impact of absence into context, an annual attendance rate of 95% would equate to nine school days being lost and 36 lessons missed. While a 90% absence rate would mean 76 lessons were missed over 19 days.

ABOVE: Left to right are Attendance Officer Harriet Elvidge, with competition winners Mia-Lily, Caroline, Molly, Logan and Kai, with Deputy Headteacher Rebecca Pindar.