PUPILS at two Glasgow secondary schools take an average of 10 extra weeks off every year with their parents' approval, according to a report published yesterday.
The Scottish Office document points the finger at Drumchapel High and Springburn Academy. But an award-winning school praised for its remarkable turnaround was labelled as the worst in Scotland for truancy.
Unauthorised absenteeism by pupils at Castlebrae Community High School, Edinburgh, has risen to 9% - nearly five times the average at other schools.
However, headmaster Willie Crosbie blamed the increase on last year's arrival of five persistent truanters from other schools and Castlebrae's hi-tech computer registration system which marks pupils absent when they are late for class.
Glasgow records the highest figures for unauthorised absence from secondary schools and the joint second highest from primary schools after Dundee City Council.
Authorised absence includes sickness and term-time holidays, but not truancy.
The figures come just weeks after Prime Minister Tony Blair caused uproar by keeping his children off school around Christmas to allow his family to go on holiday to the Seychelles.
Dr Malcolm Green, Glasgow's education convener, said: ''Glasgow's figures must inevitably take account of the high levels of deprivation and disadvantage prevalent in many of our schools.
''Nevertheless, substantial progress has been made.
''There are also several secondary schools - including Eastbank Academy and Castlemilk High School - which, thanks to careful monitoring and swift parent contact have attendance levels consistently ahead of expectation when social factors are taken into account.''
The figures show that the 817 pupils at Drumchapel High lost more than 40,000 school days between them last year, an average of 51 days of authorised absence per pupil. At Springburn Academy, the 550 pupils averaged 50.5 authorised day absences.
In general, Glasgow schools were shown to be 50% above the Scottish average for authorised absenteeism. The Glasgow average is six weeks off for every pupil at secondary schools, three weeks at primaries.
Even the best performing Glasgow secondary, Eastbank Academy, still performed worse than the national average.
Councillor Green added: ''A recent meeting of the parents' forum on absenteeism was extremely productive and we are awaiting the results of a major council consultation exercise on the problem. But despite these initiatives, plus the efforts of conscientious attendance officers and hi-tech methods of recording, we will not make a significant dent in absenteeism until we view the problem through the eyes of our pupils - and somehow make school so attractive and enjoyable they will want to attend.''
The report presents a three-year picture of attendance across Scotland. Scottish Education Minister Helen Liddell called for a blitz to cut pupil absence. ''Better attendance means better results,'' she said. She added: ''I believe that there is considerable scope for working with parents to reduce absence rates.
''Schools and education authorities are showing real commitment to tackling absence through setting targets. Absence has been stuck at the same level for some years, target setting will get things moving again in the right direction.''
Attendance and Absence in Scottish Schools 1995/96 to 1997/98 sets out attendance and absence rates in Scottish primary and secondary schools. It shows that: total (i.e authorised and unauthorised) absence across all stages in primary schools averaged six per cent. This is equivalent to each primary school missing two school weeks out of 38.
Absence across all stages in secondary schools averaged 11%. This is equivalent to every secondary school pupil missing more that four school weeks out of 38.
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