NEW figures show that the number of youngsters playing truant from York schools has rocketed by almost 200 per cent since 1997.

But city education chiefs say the figures, which have been seized on by the Tories, do not give an accurate picture.

A written Parliamentary answer has shown 1,667 children missed at least one half day of education in the year ending last march. This compared to only 568 days of unauthorised absence in 1997, when Labour won a first landslide General Election victory.

Vale of York Tory MP Anne McIntosh said Labour had pledged a reduction by one-third in school truancies in 1998.

She said: "The rising tide of truancy is yet another broken promise by the Government.

"They once pledged to cut truancy by a third, but it has trebled in City of York Local Education Authority secondary schools since 1997."

But Mark Smith, principal education social worker at City of York Council, said the figures did not portray an accurate picture.

He said York's figures for the percentage of total school sessions missed through unauthorised absence, a figure most often accepted as the most accurate reflection of truancy, was below the national average and had fallen last year.

Mr Smith said the data quoted by Ms McIntosh was also not complete, as in 1997/8 some schools failed to submit annual returns.

He said: "The total numbers of pupils attending maintained secondary schools in City of York was shown as 6,555 in 1997/1998, whereas in 2001/02 more schools completed the return and the pupil population was shown as 9,3888.

"Inevitably with this increase in eligible pupil numbers one would expect an increase in number of pupils missing at least half a day due to unauthorised absence."

He said Ofsted praised the council for encouraging good attendance and more money had been given to schools for the purpose.

"In 2001/2002 the rate of absence attendance in our schools was 7.9 per cent compared to a national average of 8.7 per cent, something that the City of York, its schools and their pupils can be proud of," he added.

Updated: 14:23 Tuesday, June 10, 2003