Scotland: Alarming rise in school pupil absence rates, says report

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1. Alarm over Scotland's school absence crisis as nearly 80,000 pupils are missing every week | Scotsman
2. Nearly one in five teenagers miss a day of school a week across Scotland | The Times
3. Scotland's shockingly high school absence rates must be tackled as a matter of national importance | Scotsman
4. Third of Scots pupils missing one day of school per fortnight | Herald Scotland
5. Warning politicians could be dealing with the catastrophic impact of Covid on school pupils for 40 years | Scotsman
6. School absence rates may hurt Scotland's future for decades | The Times

An "alarming" rise in school pupil absence rates since the Covid pandemic is seriously harming learning, an education think tank has said.

It is estimated that 40% of secondary pupils of exam age in Scotland are missing a day of school a fortnight.

The Commission on School Reform, an independent group of education experts, says the findings also suggest a fifth are missing one day a week.

Attendance has dropped across Scotland since disruption caused by Covid.

Antonia MacDonald from Glasgow withdrew from school and her friends during the lockdown period.

Her mental health suffered and by the time school returned, she felt unable to re-engage.

She told BBC Scotland News: "I just didn't want to go back.

"Because of all the online learning, I didn't really do it, I felt I couldn't do it.

"Even trying to do the simplest task was hard for me. And I didn't want to go back because I was scared what the teachers might say.

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