A Coalville school has been identified as having the highest rate of truancy in Leicestershire.

Stephenson Studio School, which is set to close in August next year, recorded a figure of 10.5 per cent of sessions missed across its total number of students during the spring and autumn terms.

The school, which teaches children from Year 10, had 88 pupils at the time.

Those pupils missed the equivalent of 2,138 out of a possible 20,387 sessions, according to data the spring and autumn terms of the 2022/23 academic year.

Deputy head of the school, Stephan Collishaw told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, that he and the staff "take attendance very seriously" and the college had made "huge progress in improving" it.

He added: "Attendance for many of our students was very poor prior to coming to join us and improved rapidly once they are in our setting.

"Attendance currently, at Stephenson Studio School, is higher this year than in any year since prior to the pandemic.

"The average attendance of our current students at their previous school was 70 per cent while their average attendance at Stephenson Studio School is 83 per cent.

"We work on many fronts to ensure that attendance improves for students: we provide small classes; higher teacher-to-student ratios; and more intense support than would be possible in other schools.

"We run an innovative curriculum that allows students to access high quality vocational education.

"For students who struggle with school we offer bespoke support, 1-2-1 tutoring and a blend of virtual and in-school learning to encourage students with high-levels of anxiety back into education."

Given the small size of the school, he added, even a low number of pupil absences could have a big impact on the overall absence rate.

The school is based at Stephenson College in Coalville. Photo: Instantstreetview.com

Pupils are also more likely to be absent the older they get, he said, and higher rates were also often seen in pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and in those with special needs.

Mr Collishaw said 40 per cent of the school's population came from disadvantaged backgrounds, and 45 per cent had additional needs.

One in five pupils were persistently absent from state-run schools last year, figures from the Department of Education revealed.

The Government classes "persistent absence" as missing 10 per cent or more of the academic year.

Data from the spring and autumn terms of the 2022/23 academic year showed more than 1.5 million pupils fell into that category. Missing school can have huge impacts on a child's education, development and future prospects.

Absences are recorded by "sessions", with each session equalling half a day of teaching.

Locally, The Winstanley School, in Braunstone Town, had the second highest truancy rate, at 7.1 per cent of sessions missed. The secondary school had 640 pupils at the time. Of a possible 154,434 sessions, 11,042 were missed.

Orchard Mead Academy, a Leicester secondary school in Hamilton with 1,177 pupils, was third, with a rate of 6.7 per cent. Some 18,356 sessions of a possible 274,863 were marked as absent.

Next was Babington Academy, a community college in Leicester's Beaumont Leys. Around 6.3 per cent of all sessions during the Spring and Autumn terms were missed by its 1,385 pupils. This worked out at around 21,297 of a possible 338,626 sessions.

In fifth place was Tugby Church of England Primary School, which had 42 pupils at the time. The school's absence rate was around 5.8 per cent with 601 out of a possible 10,372 missed.

At the other end of the spectrum were the Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy, in Loughborough, and Asfordby Hill Primary School in Melton, which both came in at a truancy rate of 0.1 per cent.

Sacred Heart, a primary school with 175 pupils, saw 37 sessions missed of a possible 44,630. Asfordby Hill has 165 pupils who missed 54 of a possible 42,000 sessions.

The LDRS confirms it approached The Winstanley School, Orchard Mead Academy, Babington Academy and Tugby Church of England Primary School for a comment - but did not receive a response.