Does attendance matter?

Hi! I’m in yr11 and my attendance in year 7-8 was amazing but in year 9 I was bullied and it completely damaged my relationship with school. Since then I believe I’ve developed some kind of social anxiety but I’m too afraid to get a diagnosis from an GP and my mum doesn’t believe there is a point in taking me to see anyone. How I feel makes it very hard to get the bus as it makes me feel ill. My attendance right now is 58.5% because of all my lates. As it takes me hours to convince myself to get on the bus everyday. A teacher has told me that the school I’m looking for will look at my attendance, but every time I search it up it says they won’t care. I’m on the road to all grades 7-9. So I feel like it shouldn’t matter as I’m applying to grammar schools and think they would only care about grades. Am I wrong?

Attendance does matter, in that if your attendance is low, it's a lot harder to do well (for your own sake), and the school you're at could mention it in their reference, if the school you're applying to wants a reference. Missing class does make it harder to do well, as does having severe social anxiety (and you'll need to come in on time for exams at the end of the year).
Does your school have a school nurse or any teacher responsible for wellbeing who you could talk to / could you speak to a teacher about it if you can't face the GP? If you're in year 11, you're almost(?) 16, which gives you full control over your medical stuff (you're an adult in the eyes of the NHS for these things), so your parents wouldn't need to know. They do phone appointments, which you could take on the bus or not-at-home, as well as in person.
Seriously - speak to someone, whether it's a friend, trusted adult (teacher/school nurse), or the GP, as attendance will just matter more and more, and people can't support you if they don't know what the problem is.
Could you try cycling instead of taking the bus, if that's what gives you anxiety?

Hi! I’m in yr11 and my attendance in year 7-8 was amazing but in year 9 I was bullied and it completely damaged my relationship with school. Since then I believe I’ve developed some kind of social anxiety but I’m too afraid to get a diagnosis from an GP and my mum doesn’t believe there is a point in taking me to see anyone. How I feel makes it very hard to get the bus as it makes me feel ill. My attendance right now is 58.5% because of all my lates. As it takes me hours to convince myself to get on the bus everyday. A teacher has told me that the school I’m looking for will look at my attendance, but every time I search it up it says they won’t care. I’m on the road to all grades 7-9. So I feel like it shouldn’t matter as I’m applying to grammar schools and think they would only care about grades. Am I wrong?

Hello,
Attendance is very important. There is much evidence to suggest that students with higher attendance often do better in exams. The reasons for this are vast, but you get the best education by being in front of a teacher who is highly expert in their subject area. You may be in line to get grades 7-9, but particularly with you being in year 11 if you really do want these higher grades then you need to try and prioritise your attendance.
I appreciate how hard it must be with all the difficulties you are currently facing. I would urge you to get some support whether that was from school or your GP as if you are feeling this way it may make it harder for your to focus on your exams which are going to further add to the stress you are currently facing.
I hope this helps, if you have any further questions please do let me know.
Charlie
Law LLB Student

Thank you for the reply! I also want to do Law at Uni. I went to a GP and was diagnosed with Chronic Anxiety, upsetting at first but my school has put in place some measures to help me. My attendance has gone up and my grades are still steady. So overall it's getting better!

Hello,
That's not a problem, and thank you so much for the update! It is really good you went to your GP and have spoken to your school for the extra help you need. This is obviously nothing to be ashamed of and hopefully, you can see the value of reaching out for this help now that your attendance has gone up and hopefully your grades will follow. It's so great things are getting better and you have done the hardest part by reaching out for help so that is something you should be very proud about. A good app which I would suggest if you need somewhere to share your feelings etc would be TellMi which I highly recommend.
It is amazing that you want to do law at University. It is hard but you clearly want to work on bettering your mental health and this is a good starting point for any kind of success. If you have any questions about law school, applying for law or anything at all please do not hesitate to let me know.
I wish you all the best.
Charlie
Law LLB Student

I actually do have a question about my A Levels if that's okay. I've chosen to do History and Psychology but I can't decide between Law, Business Studies and Film Studies. Preferably, I'd love to do Film Studies as I love film and the production of it but I don't know if that's not the best choice for a Law course. Thank you!