SCHOOL attendance in Wrexham County Borough is the third best in Wales, according to new figures released by the Welsh Assembly Government.

The overall figure for pupil attendance was 91.8%, above the Welsh average and although more work needs to be done to reach the Welsh Assembly target of 92%, the council believes it can improve further in the coming year.

The figures are a result of a concerted effort by secondary schools in conjunction with the Education Social Work Service.

Changes have included extending electronic registration and individual lesson monitoring as part of a Welsh Assembly project.

Attendance support officers are supplementing the work of education social workers and the Anti-Holidays in Term Time campaign, which has seen posters and leaflets issued to parents highlighting the effect time off during the school term can have on a pupils education and friendships. Wrexham council has worked closely with local travel agents, two of whom offer a discount to families taking holidays during school vacations.

Lead member for children (Additional Learning, Families and Support), Cllr Arfon Jones, said: “It is pleasing that the figures for secondary school attendance are improving, but we must not be complacent.

“As one of the council’s priorities it is important that we build on the improvements this year and deliver even better attendance next year.

“Parents know how important it is to ensure their children attend school regularly and failure to do so can lead to court action being taken.”