Regular and punctual attendance is essential. The Law says students must attend every day.

Students who arrive late (mornings after 8.45am/afternoons after 1.25pm) should sign in at Student Services Reception. Failure to do so will result in an absent mark being recorded. Where students are persistently late, parents will be informed. Under DfCFS regulations, students who miss registration are regarded as 'absent'.

Medical appointments (doctors, dentist) should be made, whenever possible, before or after school.

Attendance and punctuality is recorded on students' Learning Cycle reports.

Holidays, wherever possible, should take place during 'school holidays'. PLEASE DO NOT BOOK HOLIDAYS UNTIL PERMISSION IS GRANTED.Requests for holiday absence must be made prior to booking any holiday and the request should occur a minimum of 4 weeks in advance of the holiday.

If you wish to take your child out of school for a holiday or for compassionate reasons, this must be done through a formal request. Forms are available from Student Services Reception.

The school will consider authorising any request to a maximum of 5 days per academic year, however, if there are concerns about a student's attendance/punctuality, this will be refused. If a students attendance for the previous 12 months is below the national average of 93%, requests are likely to be refused. If students are late to school or lessons for 5% or more of the time, any holiday requests are likely to be refused regardless of overall attendance.

Absence due to illness
If students are unfortunate enough to be ill, parents of students in Years 7-11 are asked to inform the school by telephoning the Student Attendance Line and leaving a message stating:

• name of person reporting absence
• student name
• tutor group
• nature of illness
• when student is expected to return

Parents/students in the Sixth Form should telephone the Sixth Form direct on the number below.

Student Attendance Line Years 7 - 11 01423 798728 Sixth Form only 01423 798704

When a student has been absent due to illness for 3 days, parents are asked to contact the school.

In the event of a possible long illness, parents are requested to contact the school as soon as possible, and where appropriate, work will be set for the student to complete at home.

Return from illness
After all illness absences, students should ensure their absence is authorised by their parents on Page 41 of their Planner. Parents can also send in a letter via the student to pass to Student Services Reception. Students should aim to catch up on all work missed as soon as possible.