There was an increase in the number of lessons missed by British school pupils, official figures have shown, with the main reason given by parents being illness. 

According to the latest released set of data, there was a rise in the number of pupils who missed classes - which are separated into morning and afternoon sessions - with the overall absence level at the end of the 2014/15 sitting somewhere between 4.4 per cent and 4.5 per cent. 

The main reason parents gave for absences in the school year was illness, which accounted for some 64.7 per cent of all absences. It was the main reason for an increase, as all other reasons generally saw levels remain static throughout the year when compared to the prior term.

Worryingly, the number of unauthorised absences, many of which are parents taking their kids out of school during a term time to take them on holiday, still amounts to a little more than a fifth (20.6 per cent) of school absences. 

However, while there are reasons to be worried that the volume of absences had risen in the space of a year, there are still some positive indicators. For example, the volume of pupils taking time off is now far lower than it was five years ago, so steps in the right direction are being made.