Letter to Y11 Parents and Carers: Attendance

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing to share something very important for your child: good school attendance leads directly to better exam results. Coming to school every day is key to your child's success, and we want to work with you to help them do their best. Our latest GCSE results were the highest ever, and we want this year's Year 11 class to do even better.

The link between attendance and grades is clear. When students miss school, they miss out on key lessons, discussions, and group work. Missing this work leaves gaps in learning that are hard to fill later. Because of this, students with low attendance fall behind more easily, leading to lower grades and less confidence.

Below are two tables that show how attendance affected summer 2026 GCSE results at Outwood Academy Shafton.

Table 1 - Outwood Shafton GCSE results for students with 100% - 90.1% attendance 

Table 2 - Outwood Shafton GCSE results for students with below 90.00% attendance 

* Below 90% is classed as persistently absent (PA)

These tables clearly show why coming to school matters. Year 11 students with 90.1% to 100% attendance were almost four times as likely to get a grade 5 or higher in English and Maths. Their overall results show an average of grade 5 across all subjects, compared to an average of grade 3 for students with lower attendance.

I have shared these details with all Year 11 students. Please talk through this with your child and encourage them to come to school every day so they can achieve their best in their final year.

Yours faithfully,