gIrl who haS NEvEr mISSED a DaY of School IN 12 YEarS!
16-YEAR-OLD GCSE PUPIL HAS NEVER MISSED A SINGLE DAY OF SCHOOL
MEET Lucy Marshall – the 16-year-old GCSE pupil who has never missed a day of school.
Lucy, from Northern Moor, leaves Manchester Health Academy (MHA) this week with a 100 per cent attendance record since primary school.
The conscientious youngster, who has just completed her GCSEs, has been hailed as a ‘shining example’ by her teachers.
She says there’s no real secret to her unblemished record, she ‘just never gets sick.’
Lucy, who also sits on Wythenshawe Youth Forum, said: “I do get colds and things like that. I just never get poorly for some reason.
“Maybe it’s my immune system. Plus, my mum works at a primary school so I could never pretend I was poorly to get a day off.
“I’ve always liked going into school too. It’s a welcoming and safe place where you can talk to people about what’s going on.
“I like the social side but some things about school are really interesting too.”
Now Lucy has finished her exams, she is hoping to go to college and university with the aim of becoming a teacher. Proud mum Mel Marshall says Lucy is ‘just a good kid who loves going to school.’ The mum-of-three said: “There’s no magic formula to making sure your kids go to school, and I’m not the expert at parenting by any stretch of a mile. “It’s as simple as we go to work and they go to school. Things like getting to bed fairly early and not getting up too late help. “But really Lucy is just a good kid who enjoys going to school. She’s always been like that and I’m really proud of her.” Lucy’s older brother, Sam, 18, and youngster sister, Holly, 14, also have very good attendance records. Damian Owen, principal at MHA, said: “I congratulate Lucy on her amazing school attendance record. “In more than 25 years in teaching, she is the first student I have come across who has never taken a day off throughout primary and secondary school. “There are many legitimate reasons why most children will need to have occasional days off school and we make sure that our students are not disadvantaged educationally because of illness. “However, good attendance makes a real difference to achievement, and Lucy is a shining example of a student who shown great commitment to her studies.”
Lucy is a shining example of a student who has shown great commitment Damian Owen, school principal