admission school yearmeans a school year at the beginning of which pupils are to be admitted to any school;
assessmeans assess pursuant to orders made under section 4 of the 1988 Act, and “assessment” shall be construed accordingly;
attainment targetshas the meaning given by section 2 of the 1988 Act;
authoritymeans a local education authority and, in relation to an authority, “the offices” means the education offices;
GCSEmeans General Certificate of Secondary Education;
local average figuresmeans the average figures for all schools maintained by the relevant authority (other than any special school established in a hospital), all grant-maintained schools, grant-maintained special schools (other than any established in a hospital), and all city technology colleges and city colleges for the technology of the arts in the area of the relevant authority;
maintained schoolmeans: (a) any county or voluntary school;
national average figuresmeans the average figures for all schools in England and, in relation to pupils aged 16, 17 or 18, also include the figures for all institutions within the further education sector;
non-maintained special schoolmeans a special school which is not maintained by an authority nor a grant-maintained special school (and which is not established in a hospital);
previous school yearmeans the school year immediately preceding the reporting school year;
public examinationsmeans public examinations which are for the time being prescribed by regulations made under section 106 of the 1988 Act;
publication school yearmeans the school year immediately preceding the admission school year;
reporting school yearmeans the school year immediately preceding the publication school year;
special schoolhas the meaning assigned to it by section 182(1) of the Education Act 1993;
the 1980 Actmeans the Education Act 1980;
the 1988 Actmeans the Education Act 1988;
the officesmeans the education offices;
the total number of possible attendancesmeans the number produced by multiplying the number of registered pupils of compulsory school age by the number of school sessions in the reporting school year before 28th May;
unauthorised absencemeans an occasion on which a pupil is recorded as absent without authority pursuant to the Pupils' Registration Regulations 1956 and “authorised absence” shall be construed accordingly;