Table 4: Percentage absence in primary schools 1998/99, by council

Table 5: Percentage absence in secondary schools 1998/99, by council

The average percentage absence in primary schools in the individual education authorities does not vary greatly from the national level of just over 5%. In secondary schools, however, the national average absence is just over 11%. The average absence varies more across education authorities, ranging from 6.1% in Orkney Islands and 6.4% in Shetland Islands councils up to 13.7% in Inverclyde, 13.8% in North Lanarkshire and 17.6% in Glasgow City councils.