Abstract: Though it has long been customary for schools, whether supported by private or by public funds, to maintain attendance and medical records, little use has been made of them to evaluate the causation of absenteeism in schoolchildren.This communication is the result of an ad hoc survey of the medical and absence records kept in a girls' grammar school, which was originally undertaken to ascertain the effects of long-distance travelling on the health and educational progress of the schoolchild.Analysis of the data disclosed unforeseen variables, the effect of which makes it impossible to draw decisive conclusions upon that subject, but it may not be unprofitable to examine how far they can provide answers to the following questions:(i) What information is obtainable from school records as they are maintained at present ?(ii) What is the use of information so obtained ?(iii) What improvements in the design of school records would yield more adequate and accurate information regarding the health of adolescents ?