The proportion of pupils attending state schools in England last week dropped slightly as more children were forced to self-isolate at home, Government figures show.
Around 93% of state school pupils were in class on April 29, down from 94% on April 22, according to the Department for Education (DfE) statistics.
Nine in 10 (90%) secondary school pupils were in class last week, down from 91% in the previous week, while attendance in primary schools fell from 96% to 95%.
The data suggests that 67,000 pupils were out of class and self-isolating on Thursday last week due to potential contact with a case of coronavirus.
The DfE estimates that approximately 1% of all pupils on roll – up to 83,000 children – did not attend school for Covid-related reasons on April 29, a rise from 0.6% – up to 52,000 children – on April 22.
Last week, 47,000 pupils were self-isolating due to a potential contact with a Covid-19 case from inside the educational setting, up from 25,000 on April 22.
A further 20,000 pupils were self-isolating due to a possible contact outside school, up from 18,000 the previous week.
Meanwhile, 12,000 pupils were absent because they suspected they had Covid-19, up from 7,000 on April 22, and 3,000 were off after testing positive for Covid-19, up from 2,000.
A DfE spokeswoman said: “Attendance in schools remains consistently high, showing the continued importance of the rapid testing programme for all staff, families and secondary pupils in helping keep the virus out of classrooms.
“It is vital pupils and staff continue to test regularly as we continue on the road map back to greater normality.”
