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: