MORE than five per cent of schoolchildren in Blackburn and Darwen persistently skipped school last year, new figures revealed.

Data released by the Office of National Statistics shows 5.4 per cent of children in the area missed more than 15 per cent of their half-day sessions during the last school year.

In Blackburn and Darwen, 1,150 out of 21,400 schoolchildren were absent on a regular basis. Out of 152 local authorities, Blackburn with Darwen Council came 37th. The national average was 4.9 per cent of children.

One child missing a full day at school would be counted as missing two sessions. To be labelled a ‘persistent absentee’, a student must have missed more than 15 per cent of sessions.

The data includes both authorised and unauthorised absences, with the majority authorised.

Executive member for schools and education at Blackburn with Darwen Council, Coun Dave Harling said: “We recognise that there is more to do as attendance remains a priority for this authority and we will continue to work with our schools to tackle this area.”

Lancashire County Council, which is responsible for schoolchildren across the rest of the county, had one of the best figures in the country — out of the 152 authorities, just 31 had lower absentee figures than Lancashire, which had a figure of 4.1 per cent.

County Coun Matthew Tomlinson, said: “We won’t become complacent — missing school has a direct effect on attainment.”