THE number of children skipping school in the south has shot up by almost a quarter in the last year, figures have shown.

During the spring term a total of 114,540 days were missed in primary and secondary schools due to unauthorised absence through truancy, family holidays, illness and other reasons, the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ records show.

They included 29,980 missed days in Southampton, 77,285 in the Hampshire County Council area and 7,275 on the Isle of Wight.

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That compares with last year’s figures for the spring term which showed a total of 93,022 were missed across the three areas.

It equates to a rise of 23 per cent year on year.

Across England, children skipped almost 3.9 million days of school, with rising numbers of pupils missing lessons because of family holidays taken during term time without the school’s approval, the statistics showed.

However, Schools minister Vernon Coaker said the statistics showed a national drop in the percentage of family holidays that were approved during school time.

Mr Coaker said: “Schools are listening to our calls to query dubious reasons given by parents for absence, and allow fewer children to miss school for holidays.

“Our message is getting across to schools and parents that every lesson counts for children. We will continue to do all we can to support efforts to drive absence down still further.”

But Liberal Democrat Schools spokesman David Laws said: “These figures are a disgrace. The Government’s truancy strategies are not working.

“Ministers have poured hundreds of millions of pounds into reducing truancy over recent years, but this money seems to have been completely wasted.

“It is worrying that there has been a rise in the number of children missing school because of unauthorised holidays.

Parents should not be removing their children from school without permission from their teachers.”