One in six secondary pupils didn’t turn up for school this morning after England faced Mexico for a spot in the World Cup quarter-finals overnight. Data from over 12,000 schools also suggests unauthorised absences almost doubled today as attendance fell by three percentage points. More boys avoided morning registration than girls, with the largest rises in absence seen among 14- and 15-year-olds. Bridget Phillipson Education secretary Bridget Phillipson had urged parents last week to ensure their children attend school today, even if they decided to stay up for the England game. “I’ll be making sure that my kids get into school on the Monday whatever we decide about watching the football,” she told the BBC last week. “I’m not going to make requests on parents around bedtime – they can decide what’s best for their family – but, please, let’s try and get our kids in on the Monday too.” Tuchel’s advice England’s match against Mexico – originally scheduled to kick off at 1am – was delayed an hour this morning due severe storms. The side held on for a 3-2 win against their hosts to set up a World Cup quarter-final showdown with Norway this weekend. Ahead of the match, England manager Thomas Tuchel recommended parents “write an excuse for school and let them [their children] watch football”. “There’s so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years,” he added. “Let them watch what will be a big, big match. We need the support of everyone and especially of the children.” Attendance drops Figures shared by Arbor, England’s biggest schools management information system (MIS) provider, suggest some parents heeded the England boss’s advice. Attendance across the MIS firm’s 12,139 schools dropped to 89.79 per cent this morning, compared to 93.09 per cent last Monday. Unauthorised absence stood at 5.61 per cent. This time last week the figure stood at 2.92 per cent. Secondaries were the worst-hit, with just 83.29 per cent of pupils arriving for morning registration. Primaries registered an attendance rate of 92.42 per cent. Absence was highest in years 9 and 10. Just under 80 per cent of children across both year groups arrived for class today, compared to around 89 per cent last week. A secondary school gender gap also opened up. Attendance stood at 82.26 per cent among boys and 84.33 per cent among girls. Slightly more boys than girls registered for class seven days ago. Latecomers Schools have a second registration each afternoon. Arbor expects this to show a higher attendance level, with some children set to arrive for class between registrations. Polling data collected by Teacher Tapp suggested 6 per cent of schools were planning to delay the start of the day. One per cent said they would “authorise absence pupils who are missing due to the match”. A further 8 per cent showed the game – either a full replay or highlights – during the day, while 86 per cent planned to make no changes.