Secondary school pupils in the district remain among the country's worst for truancy rates.

Nine of Bradford's 28 secondary schools have large numbers of persistent truants, according to a report to tomorrow's meeting of the Education Policy Partnership.

They are: Greenhead High School, Keighley; Bradford Cathedral Community College; Rhodesway School, Allerton; Tong School, Westgate Hill; Immanuel CE Community College, Thackley; Queensbury School; Salt Grammar School, Baildon, Carlton Bolling College, Undercliffe, and Beckfoot School, Bingley.

The figures relate to the 2004/5 academic year and the first few months of this academic year, but bosses at Education Bradford today warned they have concerns about the data.

Barbara Lawrie, its principal education social worker, said: "The Department for Education and Science (DfES) has identified schools which need to focus on pupils with the highest level of unauthorised absence. There are nine such schools in Bradford out of a total of 207.

"The DfES describes unauthorised absence as truancy, giving the impression all the young people involved are deliberately avoiding going to school. However, unauthorised absence also involves parents condoning absence."

Education Bradford is working with schools and the DfES to improve the position.

David Horn, head teacher at Beckfoot School, said: "We are obviously very disappointed to be in this list. This data is now very much out-of-date and does not present the reality at present."

Nigel Jepson, executive head teacher at Carlton Bolling and Rhodesway schools, said: "I hope the figures for this year will see the two schools falling off the list as we continue to take a hard line approach to unauthorised absences from school."

Bradford is one of 16 authorities identified as having a concentration of secondary schools likely to have large numbers of persistent truants.

So far this academic year 753 fixed penalty notices have been issued to parents and 600 prosecutions have been taken out.

Anthony Mugan, head of Bradford Council's education client team, said: "Bradford has a firm policy of challenging unauthorised absence and encouraging schools to record unauthorised absence accurately.

"This has led to an improvement in overall attendance since 2001 but as a consequence the proportion of overall unauthorised absence remains high. The Education Social Work Service undertakes a wide range of initiatives with schools, together with regular truancy sweeps."

e-mail: jennifer.sugden@bradford.newsquest.co.uk