SCHOOLCHILDREN in York have some of the best attendance figures in the country.

Statistics released by the Department for Education show that only 3.2 per cent of York pupils were ‘persistent absentees’ – away for more than 15 per cent of lessons last year– which is a five percent reduction on the 2012-13 figures.

The 96.1 per cent attendance figures for York mean that the city is the best performing area in Yorkshire and the Humber, and only two of the 150 local authority areas in England and Wales have better attendance than York.

The council’s director of education Jon Stonehouse said: “Schools in York work hard to ensure that they can support pupils and their families in overcoming any barriers to attendance.

“I would encourage any parent who is concerned about issues that they feel may lead to their child missing lessons to contact their school straight away.”

Pupils who miss between ten per cent and 20 per cent of school tend to have lower attainment levels than average, with only 35 percent achieving the key milestone of five A* to C GCSEs, including English and maths.

The council’s cabinet member for education Cllr Janet Looker thanked teachers, police, and health sector workers for their help to get the impressive results for York.