A UK secondary school is offering students a 40-inch smart TV set worth almost £150 if they attend all their classes for a fortnight. Officials at Haven High Academy in Boston, Lincolnshire, launched the scheme in a bid to boost attendance after an increase in school absences across the UK since the COVID-19 pandemic. In a post announcing details of the competition, a spokesperson for the school said: “Get 100% attendance in any two weeks and be in the draw for a TV. Movements matter, attendence matters. Be a hero and win a 40-inch smart TV every two weeks.”
The Hye Tizen sets on offer in the draw retail for £149.99 and include built-in gaming hubs. While the Government has boasted that 2025 marks the biggest year-on-year improvement in school attendence in a decade, with 1,000 classes of children learning full-time for a year, headteacher Austin Sheppard said the topic continues to be “a massive priority for all schools”.
He also credited the school’s drive to encourage students to be a ‘Haven HERO – Here, Everyday, Ready, On Time’, as helping it achieve one of the highest improvements in attendance last year, with a rise of 3%.
“At Haven High, we are resolutely committed to improving attendance,” he told the Daily Mail. “We were very proud to have improved our attendance by over 3% last academic year, a feat that made us one of the most improved schools for attendance in the county.
“We are aiming to make further improvements this year. We know that there is a significant link between attendance and outcomes, as noted by the Department of Education’s (DofE) attendance report [in] March 2025.”
“We also know that the habits that are formed at the start of the academic year can often lead to a trend that is repeated for the rest of the year,” Mr Sheppard added.
“Helping to motivate students and their families to put attendance first is key. With this reward, we wanted to ensure that it was a prize students would be eager to win, and the TV seemed a great fit.
“The prize giveaway is part of a comprehensive attendance strategy that includes many elements of accountability and other rewards.
“Setting high expectations for our students and rewarding those who meet these is a key part of our school improvement strategy and this is a great example of that.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson urged British parents last month to encourage their children to go to school, acknowledging that “we all need to do more” to tackle pupil absences. The DofE has claimed it is turning the tide on classroom attendance, however, with 140,000 fewer students persistently absent last year.
Haven High has been contacted for comment.
