Meet the South Tyneside 11-year-old who has never missed a day of school

A Year 6 pupil at Monkton Academy has been honoured by the Mayor of South Tyneside for having a 100% attendance record since she started school.

Ava Finn, aged 11, has never missed a day of school in her entire time from reception at Monkton Infants all the way up to Year 6 at Monkton Academy.

The only time Ava hasn’t physically been in the classroom was during the Covid-19 pandemic; however, she kept up her perfect record thanks to online learning.

On Wednesday, July 17, Cllr Fay Cunningham, the Mayor of South Tyneside, visited Ava at school to present her with a specially made award.

Claire Finn, Ava’s mam, has told the Shields Gazette that having 100% attendance is something that her daughter takes a lot of pride in.

She commented: “We didn’t actually know anything about it at first until the Council’s attendance officer got in touch with the school to let them know about her 100% attendance.

“Because it is such a big thing that doesn’t happen often, the school got an award made especially for Ava.

“It was all kept as a surprise so she was very shocked when she realised that we were all there for her when she received the award.

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“Ava never gets poorly and she really prides herself on having 100% attendance at school, it is something that she always wants to keep up.

“Every school year she has looked forward to keeping her attendance at 100% and even wants her class to have the same attendance as well.”

Ava will leave Monkton Academy on Friday, July 19, as she starts secondary school in September, where she will be looking to keep her perfect streak going.