One piece of data from the Department for Education does just that, looking at the impact of annual and one-off events on short-term school absence in England.
One of the more eye-catching examples is the apparent impact of Taylor Swift’s UK tour on school attendance in Liverpool, in June 2024. The reference may feel unexpected in a government report on pupil absence, but it illustrates a wider point: school attendance is not affected only by illness, term-time holidays or long-term disengagement. It is also shaped by birthdays, concerts, county shows, medical appointments, religious observance and the way school calendars are organised.
Taylor Swift, Liverpool and school absence
The Department for Education looked at overall absence rates in the Liverpool local authority area on the dates of Taylor Swift’s concerts, 13 and 14 June 2024. They compared them with the Thursday and Friday of the week before and the week after. The data showed no increase in absence on Thursday 13 June, but there was a notable rise for Year 9 and Year 10 girls on Friday 14 June.
For Year 10 girls in Liverpool, the overall absence rate was 16.4% on Friday 14 June, compared with 12.6% on Friday 7 June and 12.4% on Friday 21 June. The Department for Education described this as around 30% higher absence on 14 June. No corresponding increase was seen for boys in the Liverpool local authority. As an aside, that fact perhaps illustrates Taylor Swift’s fanbase is predominantly female, at least in Liverpool.
Of course, those statistics do not mean every absence was caused by the concert. The Government’s own analysis is careful to present these figures as illustrative rather than definitive. However, the example is useful because it shows how major cultural events, even when they last only one evening, can have a measurable relationship with school attendance.
Why short-term absence matters
The Government’s accompanying press release frames the issue around “just one day off” habits. Its analysis says children are up to 55% more likely to miss school on their birthday, and warns that occasional missed days can build up over a school year. The Government is firm when it states that bunking off school is fuelling avoidable school absence.
The same release states that pupils who attend nearly every day in Year 6 have 30% higher odds of reaching expected standards in reading, writing and maths, than those missing 5% to 10% of school time. It also states that secondary pupils who are persistently absent are around three times more likely to become a young person who is not in education, employment or training (NEET), than their peers.
For parents, attendance data is not only about the impact on academic qualifications. Regular school attendance also supports friendships, confidence, sport, music, enrichment and the shared experiences that form part of childhood and adolescence. The Government expressly recognises that attendance is about more than attainment, particularly at a time when young people are spending more time online and less time socialising face to face.
Birthdays and avoidable school absence
Birthdays are one of the clearest examples in the data. Around half of children’s birthdays fall on a school day, and the Department for Education found that overall absence rates are higher on pupils’ birthdays than on non-birthday school days. Across all pupils, the absence rate was 9.6% on birthdays compared with 6.9% on non-birthdays, a difference of 2.7%.
The gap was particularly marked in secondary school. In Year 8, absence was 12.8% on birthdays compared with 8.3% on non-birthdays, with the Department for Education noting that pupils in that year group were almost 55% more likely to be absent on their birthday.
Medical and dental appointments
The report also looks at medical and dental appointments, which were recorded as the reason for absence, for more than 8 million sessions. Attendance is recorded separately for morning and afternoon sessions, and the analysis found that, where a child missed one session for a medical appointment, around half also missed the other session that day, meaning they were likely to be absent for the full school day.
Where pupils had a morning absence for a medical or dental appointment, 53.9% were present in the afternoon, while 38.7% had another medical or dental appointment absence in the afternoon. Where pupils had an afternoon absence for a medical or dental appointment, 44.0% were present in the morning, while 51.1% also had a medical or dental appointment absence in the morning.
Broken weeks and the end of term
The report also considers “broken weeks”, meaning weeks in the school year that do not consist of five full school days. Some broken weeks are unavoidable, such as those involving bank holidays or polling day closures. Others, particularly at the start or end of school term, may depend on school calendar planning.
In the final week of the 2024 to 2025 academic year, schools with a broken last week had an average absence rate of 12.2%, compared with 9.6% for schools with a full last week. The Department for Education described this as a 27% increase, representing 130,000 missed days of school.
For parents, this highlights a familiar end-of-term issue. Once the rhythm of school life and the school week changes, attendance can become fragile. That may be particularly true where families assume that the final few days of term are less important, even though they still form part of the school year. It is also likely that end of term absence, particularly in the summer, is linked to families seeking to avoid expensive holiday costs, despite the risk of a school holiday fine.
Religious observance
The data also looks at authorised absences for religious observance. The Department for Education notes that a child is not considered to have failed to attend school regularly if they are absent on a day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which their parent or carer belongs.
More than 6.9 million pupils, or 90.1%, did not have a single religious observance absence session. The highest proportions of religious observance absence sessions were recorded in the weeks beginning 2 June 2025, linked to Eid al-Adha, and 31 March 2025, linked to Eid al-Fitr.
Agricultural shows
The report also refers to the Royal Norfolk Show, as an example of the impact of local events. When the Royal Norfolk Show took place, attendance in Norfolk local authority was much lower on the two dates of the show than on other Wednesdays and Thursdays in the period reviewed. The biggest increase in absence on the second day of the show was 5.1% for Year 9 boys, compared with less than 1 percentage point nationally.
These examples show that school attendance is locally textured. National figures are important, but local events, community traditions and family routines can all influence attendance patterns.
Conclusion: from Fifteen to So High School
Taylor Swift’s appearance in a Government school attendance report may raise a smile, but the underlying point is serious. Whether the trigger for school absence is a concert, a birthday, a medical appointment, a county show or the format of the school calendar, short-term absence may be part of a wider behaviour pattern. The Government’s data suggests that school attendance is affected by repeated small decisions.
For parents, the message should be one of reflection. Children’s lives include celebrations, family moments, religious observance, cultural events and medical care. These are all important. However, a balance must be struck, to ensure every child reaches their full potential. Therefore, it is noteworthy that the Government published guidance in July 2026 aimed at improving school attendance.
There is also something fitting about Taylor Swift being part of this discussion. Songs such as Fifteen and So High School draw on the intensity of teenage experience, friendship, identity and the memories made during school years. The Government’s attendance data makes a more prosaic point, but one that parents will recognise: being in school regularly helps children take part in the everyday moments, lessons, friendships and milestones that make school feel, in every sense, “so high school”. It’s true. Scout’s honour.
At Doyle Clayton, we are specialist education solicitors, assisting parents and their children on a range of issues, from school admission appeals to safeguarding, special educational needs, school exclusions and lots in between. We offer a fixed fee online consultation to give legal advice with certainty over cost. A consultation meeting can be secured through our dedicated booking suite.
