More than 300,000 pupils estimated absent after England World Cup win

Exclusive: Initial figures are yet to be confirmed by DfE, which said schools were ‘at the heart’ of the celebration About 332,000 fewer children were in school on Monday morning than a week earlier, according to initial figures, as attendance fell after England’s 3-2 World Cup win over Mexico. School registers were down more than three percentage points on last week, after England manager Thomas Tuchel advised parents to “write an excuse for school and let them watch”. Data collected at morning registration from more than 12,000 state schools in England showed attendance at 89.79%, compared with 93.09% last Monday, with absences higher among secondary pupils. Scaled up using Department for Education figures to match the total pupil population, the data suggests about 332,000 fewer children were in school than on the previous Monday. The estimate excludes pupils in years 11 and 13, most of whom have already left school after finishing their exams. The figures are yet to be confirmed by the Department for Education, but according to data collected in real time via Arbor management information system, which is used by over half of schools in England, unauthorised absence was nearly d