A HAMPSHIRE school is to offer 24-hour teaching for its pupils in a bid to improve truancy rates.

From next September Bridgemary School in Gosport, which has one of the worst truancy rates in the country, will be open from 7am to 10pm and offer on-line teaching during the night.

Head teacher Cheryl Heron said the school was simply adapting to the demands of the modern world and added she had the support of teaching and administration staff who had agreed to work flexi-time hours during the two-year pilot scheme.