EDUCATION bosses are losing the battle to get pupils to turn up to lessons, new Government figures show.

Southampton's secondary schools boast the worst truancy record in the south east with more children having bunked off lessons at both primary and secondary schools during last year's autumn term and this year's spring term than the previous year.

In Southampton secondary schools, about 19,500 days of education were lost in the autumn term from September to December 2006 while more than 17,500 days of education were lost due to unauthorised absence in the spring term, between January and April this year.

The rate was nearly double the national average and comes despite a campaign by city education bosses to curb the spiralling truancy rate. These have included the introduction of Sam the Beagle, a 6ft furry dog that gives out stickers, certificates and postcards for good attendance to primary school children.

But that has failed to entice youngsters to class with truancy rates in the city's 63 primary, infant and junior schools the worst in the south east behind Slough.

Truancy sweeps, where education welfare officers and police work in partnership to catch children skipping lessons and congregating in popular hunts such as WestQuay, have taken place throughout the year. A series of spotchecks in lessons to track down pupils who register first thing in the morning and then truant individual lessons have also been introduced.

Even the city-wide extension of a pilot scheme of issuing £100 fixed penalty notices on parents of persistent truants and prosecution in the courts has failed to halt truancy levels.

Education boss councillor Peter Baillie said: "These latest figures show why tackling truancy continues to be a priority for us."