A school is considering issuing pagers to some parents following a major study on truancy.

The news of the Banbury initiative comes as the Government announced a national crackdown.

The case of the Sussex schoolgirls, Lisa Hoodless and Charlene Lunnon - found yesterday after they were missing for three days - has also highlighted the need for changes in checking on absent children.

A new study on truancy at Banbury School found that youngsters were most likely to play truant because they disliked a particular subject or did not get on with a teacher, or missed course work.

The study, which was carried out by Oxford-based education researcher Caroline Hudson, involved interviews with 267 randomly selected students and nearly 300 sets of parents.

Mrs Hudson said: "While most skiving started at secondary level there was still some truancy at primary level. The youngest age we found was starting to skive at the age of six.

Banbury School's overall level of absence is in line with levels recommended by the education watchdog Ofsted.

But assistant principal Richard Hudson said: "We find that the major problem with some of our poorer attenders is that they come from homes where there are no telephones. Pagers are something we're looking at."

The truancy rate at Barton First School in Oxford, is low. Headteacher Ron Holland was unsure that introducing pagers would work.

He said: "This problem is all about reaching a balance between concern for the children and leaving parents to get on with things by themselves."

A spokesman at Frideswide Middle School, Oxford, said: "If staff were asked to contact parents on the first day of absence there are issues involving staff and resources which would need to be resolved."

Story date: Saturday 23 January

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