School Leaving Date

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Amber
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Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

School Leaving Date

Post by Amber »

Does anyone know the legal position regarding the date when a child actually ceases to be in full-time education after A levels/Year 13? We are trying to claim for loss of a holiday on travel insurance because of an injury and the insurance company has told us that someone aged 18 and not in full time education is not covered by the policy (this must be paragraph 816 sub para 7.5f clause w because I can't find it). Anyway I think that I was told that the official date is 31 August - i.e. the end of the academic year, but would like to know if anyone knows this for sure as I need chapter and verse.

Thanks
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: School Leaving Date

Post by Sally-Anne »

I think the nearest you will get to a definition will be something along the lines of HMRC guidelines on things like Tax Credits. This is sort of helpful, although it does seem to give conflicting information:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/tctmanua ... m#IDAXPNHE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Personally, if you can't find the clause they are claiming exists, I would go on the offensive and threaten to write to the money column of one of the weekend newspapers!
stroudydad
Posts: 2246
Joined: Sat Oct 08, 2011 2:25 pm

Re: School Leaving Date

Post by stroudydad »

Surely as he hasn't had results yet he is still in education??
ToadMum
Posts: 11946
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: School Leaving Date

Post by ToadMum »

From http://www.gov.uk/know-when-you-can-leave-school

School leaving age

England

In England, your leaving age depends on when you were born. You can leave school on the last Friday in June as long as you’ll be 16 by the end of that year’s summer holidays.

But you must stay in some form of education or training until:
27 June 2014 if you were born between 1 September 1996 and 31 August 1997
your 18th birthday if you were born on or after 1 September 1997


So - admittedly not for another 6 years - one of DS2's friends could start the autumn term of year 13 on September 1st, then leave school the next day. Not necessarily very helpful for schools for planning purposes...
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: School Leaving Date

Post by Amber »

stroudydad wrote:Surely as he hasn't had results yet he is still in education??
That is what we think, stroudydad. (It's a she btw :D ).

And thanks ToadMum - it isn't so much as when you can leave, but when you are legally regarded as having done so. I am struggling to understand how any 18 year old between school and uni could be regarded as in full-time education, unless they are very diligent and decide to take on an OU short course over the entire summer. It seems like a ready cop-out clause for an insurance company from where I am sitting.
doodles
Posts: 8300
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:19 pm

Re: School Leaving Date

Post by doodles »

I think I would argue the toss with them Amber. Surely if she's registered to sit the exams, is awaiting the results, has applied for university etc etc she is in full time education.
Last edited by doodles on Tue Aug 12, 2014 3:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: School Leaving Date

Post by Amber »

doodles wrote:I think I would argue the toss with them Amber. Surely if she's registered to sit the exams, is awaiting the results etc etc she is in full time education.
Oh I am doodles, but everything feels like a fight at the moment and sometimes you just don't have the energy, do you? Ideally I want to hit them with something in writing.
stroudydad
Posts: 2246
Joined: Sat Oct 08, 2011 2:25 pm

Re: School Leaving Date

Post by stroudydad »

How about looking at it another way, if (just for arguments sake) she got nowhere near the grades for uni, what would she do?? Stay at school, in some form, I'm guessing??
doodles
Posts: 8300
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:19 pm

Re: School Leaving Date

Post by doodles »

Or if she goes off to university this year does she become an "adult" for however many weeks and then morph back into a student sometime in september. :shock: :?

Sounds like an insurance company cop out to me - have you tried the CAB? They can be really helpful.
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: School Leaving Date

Post by Sally-Anne »

Another HMRC link for you: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ccmmanual/ccm18030.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The underlining is mine:
Full-time education is education undertaken in pursuit of a course, where an average of more than 12 hours per week is spent during term time
•receiving tuition
•engaging in practical work
•receiving supervised study
•taking examinations
And that definition is also quoted here: http://www.familylore.co.uk/2012/12/fam ... -full.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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