Truancy is defined as the act of being absent without permission. It has become most applied to schoolchildren who have decided that they will not attend school against the knowledge or expressed wishes of their parents. A person in the act of truancy is said to be "playing truant". Truancy results is a child attending school less frequently. This is seen terrible thing by parents and a utterly fantastic thing by the children.

Statistics and Consequences

DoE stats

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Synonyms

Children are inventive, therefore it is natural that many synonyms for playing truant have arisen in the English language. If you are a parent or a teacher it would be wise to be aware of some, if not all, of these words:

• 
  Skiving/skiving off
  

• 
  Bunking off
  

• 
  Playing hookey
  

• 
  Wagging
  

• 
  Skipping
  

• 
  Ditching
  

• 
  Flunking
  

• 
  Being "Sick"*

• 
  Pulling a Sickie
  

• 
  Going AWOL (Absent With Out Leave)*

• 
  Doing a runner
  

Conclusion

Truancy is a serious problem. If children are not educated then they have an increased chance that they will turn out stupid. Skiving is a sign of unhappiness in a childs life either with school itself or with their life in general. Steps should be taken to address the cause of the wagging, perhaps with a child counselor.

Just remember, if you catch your child or pupil pulling a sickie or doing a runner, it might not be as bad as you think. Great figures of the modern age such as Albert Einstein, Marie Curie and Gary Lineker were all hopeless in school. With a bit of love and attention the child's talents can be channeled into some area of life that will be more rewarding and with a bit of luck the ditching will cease.