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What do you think about the Government raising the school leaving age to 18 in 2013?

Good idea? Bad idea?



The school leaving age in the UK, particularly in England and Wales, has been raised numerous times over the past few centuries. The first act to introduce and enforce compulsory attendance was the Elementary Education Act 1870, with school boards set up to ensure children attended school, although exemptions were made for illness and travelling distance. Prior to this act, very few schools existed, with the ones that did exist being run by the Church. Since then, the age has been raised several times, most notably to 15 through the Education Act 1944 and to 16 in 1972, along with the addition of ROSLA Buildings and Middle schools. Some 16 year olds in England and Wales are of Compulsory age (those who turn 16 between September and June).Students must remain in school until the last Friday in June in the school year they turn 16 (usually the end of Year 11). This does of course mean that a minority of students leave school aged 15.

The Government has proposed raising the age again to 18 in 2013, which it believes will tackle the problem of young people leaving school unskilled, with the DfES stating "we are letting young people down if we allow them to leave education and training without skills at the age of 16." Sixteen is the current school leaving age in England and Wales, with students generally required to complete their GCSE examinations at the end of year 11 before leaving.

Attempts at raising the participation age to 18 were first proposed to come into effect with the Education Act 1918. Plans for this were soon dropped when the Government needed to cut public spending after World War I, as was the case when attempts were made to raise it in 1944, with cuts in spending after World War II dropping any plans preparing for it. There is a probability that the participation age in education or training will rise to 18 in England but remain at 16 in Scotland and 16 in Wales according to a Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson.

Raising of school leaving age - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Complete Bollocks.

The only answer is to heavilly Invest back into our Infrastructure and reward companies for young apprenticships in order for the young to learn a trade.

Staying on at school is not going to motivate youngsters into wanting to work. Learning a trade within an industry or business gives the young a sense of purpose, discipline, a belonging and purpose for the future.

I have thought this for quite a while! i also think they should start school later as well ,, start nursery at 5 then school at six,, stay on till 18. I know 18 isnt much better in a lot of cases but i thnk 16 is the wrong age to be thinking about what you want to do as you leave school and what career you intend to persue,, at 16 most young girls are thinking about boys, make up and clothes, and boys are thinking about girls, footy and cars:)

Also i think there should be a lot more modern apprentice type opportunities, both of my children went that way when they left school with my encouragement and acquired good qualifications, my son qualified as a joiner and my daughter qualified in business admin. They did this while actually working in positions (placement) and being paid a wage,, a very small wage but a wage at least, which in my opinion was better than going to college and having to work on top of that to pay for it, The government give no encouragement whatsoever for young people to go to college and on to university, and of course there cant be an apprenticeship for every type of job can there ,,, some careers you have to attend college and university.

I will fight against it that's for sure. It's bad enough getting my son to school now, until the government provide better provision for special needs and stop mainstreaming them I for one will not make my son go to a school where he feels insecure until he is 18. It's back to this treating everyone the same attitude, we are not all the same, what's my son going to do with 6 GCSE's when he needs life skills

The kids that hate school will not learn if you keep them there until they're ninety eight, never mind eighteen!

Teach them practical skills and they'll thrive - bring back apprenticeships.

Bryn Mawr;1241736 wrote: The kids that hate school will not learn if you keep them there until they're ninety eight, never mind eighteen!

Teach them practical skills and they'll thrive - bring back apprenticeships.


Apprenticeships... thats what I said Bryn with generous rewards for the Industries and companies offering them.

The financial burden on the state would be pretty catastropic. Parents would need to claim benifit up the age of 18. It would not be financially viable to the country.