THE number of pupils persistently skipping school in Hampshire has dropped by 25 per cent.

The 2012/13 year saw 7,111 persistent truants, a fall of 25.2 per cent since 2009/10 which saw 9,510.

Meon Valley MP George Hollingbery has welcomed the news. He said: “These figures show that the problem in Hampshire is being successfully tackled with more truanting pupils now back into school.

“Absence from school has a significant negative effect on attainment and this means in adult life those who have missed out on education often lack the skills to get jobs.

“On that basis, fewer persistent truants is very welcome news indeed, although there is still work to do to get the figure even lower.”