Raising School Leaving Age

12th January 2007

Commenting on the Government’s proposals to lift the school leaving age to 18, Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Britain’s largest teaching union, said:

“Raising the school leaving age to 18 is inevitable.  We cannot afford to neglect those young people who currently leave school at 16 unprepared for the rigour and demands of life in the 21st century.  Young people remaining in education and high quality training will be good for our country and our economy.

“Raising the school leaving age to 18 was a vision outlined in the 1944 Education Act which has taken far too long to be realised.   It is a vision which cannot be realised on the cheap, however.  The last move to raise the school leaving age from 15 to 16 in 1972 was not accompanied by sufficient preparation and additional resources.

“Schools need proper audits of the additional staff, training, space and curriculum adaptations necessary to meet this group’s needs with the necessary accompanying resources. Even the implications for dealing with truancy will have to be evaluated.

“Such a move has to be implemented successfully for young people themselves and school communities.”