Primary vs secondary school attendance: what does the data show?
Absence is consistently higher in secondary schools than in primary schools. The difference is clearest in persistent and severe absence, and it builds steadily as pupils move through the year groups.
In short
In autumn term 2025/26, 14.39% of primary pupils were persistently absent, compared with 21.53% of secondary pupils.
Persistent absence was therefore about 7 percentage points higher in secondary schools.
Absence by school type
| School type | Overall absence | Persistent absence | Severe absence |
|---|---|---|---|
| State-funded primary | 5.12% | 14.39% | 1.02% |
| State-funded secondary | 7.75% | 21.53% | 3.16% |
| Special | 12.73% | 35.09% | 6.55% |
These are national averages across the pupils represented in each school type. They do not mean that every secondary school has higher absence than every primary school.
The gap is widest at the severe end
Severe absence in secondary schools (3.16%) was about 3 times the primary rate (1.02%). A secondary pupil was therefore much more likely than a primary pupil to fall into the severe-absence category.
Does absence increase as pupils get older?
National data generally shows absence increasing with age. In autumn term 2025/26:
- the highest overall absence rate was in Year 11, at 9.26%;
- persistent absence was highest in Year 10, at 24.67%;
- severe absence was highest in Year 11, at 4.13%.
Persistent absence by national curriculum year group:
| Year group | Persistent absence |
|---|---|
| Year 1 and below | 16.37% |
| Year 2 | 14.10% |
| Year 3 | 13.04% |
| Year 4 | 13.41% |
| Year 5 | 13.74% |
| Year 6 | 14.77% |
| Year 7 | 14.28% |
| Year 8 | 20.90% |
| Year 9 | 24.00% |
| Year 10 | 24.67% |
| Year 11 | 24.34% |
The lowest overall absence rate was in Year 3, at 4.84%. The transition from primary to secondary education is therefore part of a wider pattern in which attendance tends to become more challenging as pupils move through the secondary years.
The table covers the substantive year groups. DfE also publishes very small categories — “Year 12 and above” and pupils whose year group is not followed or missing — where the rates are calculated on far fewer enrolments and are not comparable with the year groups above.
Why is secondary absence higher?
The national statistics show that secondary absence is higher. They do not by themselves show why.
Influences on attendance can include health, engagement, family circumstances, SEND, disadvantage and a wide range of other barriers. A good analysis distinguishes between the observed difference and possible explanations for it.
Why this matters for schools
Comparing a school's attendance with a single national figure can mislead if school phase is ignored. A secondary school should normally compare its position principally with secondary benchmarks rather than with an overall national figure that also includes primary pupils. The same applies to primary and special schools.
Explore the data yourself
See overall, persistent and severe absence side by side for primary, secondary and special schools.
Compare school phases →About this guidance
This page explains publicly available school attendance statistics and guidance for England. tutor2u uses Department for Education data and primary government guidance wherever possible. Every figure shown is calculated directly from the published DfE data files rather than transcribed by hand.
Attendance statistics describe patterns across pupils and schools. They should be interpreted with appropriate context and should not be used to make assumptions about the circumstances of an individual pupil.