 Truants are being taught after school to catch up on lost lessons |
A town in Essex has declared itself a truant-free zone. Shops in Southend are turning away children thought to be skipping class and reporting them to the police.
The blitz follows a separate scheme involving three local schools which hold special after-hours classes for truanting pupils.
The sessions are being run by Southend Borough Council. It is hoped pupils can catch up on lost lessons and improve their attendance records.
A reformed truant said the lessons had shown him just how much work he had missed.
"I usually just mucked about my mates and that," he said.
" When you come here you see how you missed out on a lot of work, so when you come to lessons now, you just get on with it."
One-Minute World News 
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