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The children were absent from school for a variety of reasons, the main causes being the weather and illness. Often the comment in the school log was that the children were away for no apparent reason and the excuse for the boys was that they were working for local farmers, scaring birds away from the crops, minding the sheep or making hay. The children also stayed away in September to pick blackberries. Eventually the school holidays were adjusted so that hay making and blackberry picking could take place when the crops were ready. In 1916 during World War I the summer holiday was in July and was extended for a further week, as the haymaking had not finished. An official holiday was given for a week from 1904 until 1922 for blackberry picking, after which it was discontinued and an extra week was added to the summer holidays. Occasionally, during school hours, the teacher took out the children to pick blackberries and mushrooms. Banwell Horse Show at the end of August was also a big attraction and many scholars were often absent for the afternoon. Sometimes a holiday was given for the event.
If a child was late to school he or she was marked absent. This meant that they did not qualify for an attendance prize at the end of the year. In July 1908 George Bowden, age 8 years, fell into a ditch and because he was wet through was sent home and lost his attendance mark. Until 1951, when a mini-bus or taxi was provided to transport children who lived over one mile away from the school, all the children had to walk to school.
After 1910 the Attendance Officer made occasional visits and, if the attendance was good the scholars were awarded an extra half days holiday.
Money prizes from the Mrs. Ann Gadd and Mrs. Betty Chappell bequests were presented just before Christmas to the Loxton children for good attendance.
Coughs and colds were frequently mentioned throughout the school log and the school was closed in February 1936 for two weeks and in January 1946 for one week, because most of the children were away with severe colds. Influenza affected many of the children and there were epidemics in 1899 and 1916. The school closed for a week in January 1924 because the mistress and most of the children were ill and again in 1932. In 1939 there was a bad epidemic, which started at the beginning of January, and at the end of the month the school was closed for 2 weeks. The Scholarship Examination took place at the beginning of February and the school was instructed that any candidates who were suffering from influenza should be excluded. There were four candidates, two boys and two girls. The girls were both ill and were unable to sit the examination. There were further epidemics in 1937, 1943, 1950 and in 1956 most of the population of the village succumbed.
Over the years mumps, measles, chicken pox, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and whooping cough also reduced the attendance figures. In the case of the first five illnesses all family contacts were kept in quarantine and school children were kept away from school for up to four weeks.
Diphtheria and scarlet fever could prove fatal. There were four occasions when the schoolchildren had diphtheria although each time only one or two children suffered from it. The most serious case was in 1896 when the school was closed for three weeks and Dora Pople, aged 14 years, died. On four other times children were kept away from school because someone in their family had caught the disease. Inoculations against diphtheria started at the school in 1941.
1886 was a bad year for scarlet fever. The school was closed for a month in April, but there were three more cases in July and a further two in September. There were more outbreaks in 1891 and 1897. There were no more cases reported until 1940 when one girl was sent to the Isolation Hospital at Cross and the evacuee who shared her bed was kept away from school. Other parents also kept their children away as a precaution. The following year one schoolboy, his brother and mother were sent to the isolation hospital and the school closed for three weeks. There was another case in 1943 and the last case to be reported in 1955 was a mild one, but children were still kept away from school by their parents.
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