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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Sally Weale Education correspondent

Covid absences in schools in England triple in two weeks

Covid-19 England Paul Whiteman DfE
Schools re-open at the first stage of the easing of national Lockdown
Attendance in state schools in England dropped from 92.2% two weeks ago to 89.7%, according to government data. Photograph: Guy Bell/Rex/Shutterstock

The number of children in state schools in England who were absent last week because of Covid has more than tripled in a fortnight, confirming headteachers’ predictions of growing disruption in classrooms as pupils prepare for summer exams.

Figures published by the Department for Education (DfE) on Tuesday showed 202,000 pupils were off school on 17 March because of the virus – a dramatic jump from 58,000 two weeks earlier, when attendance was described as returning to “something approaching normal”.

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