Leaving school at 14?

[marley2580]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15146240

I think there's a better case for lowering the school leaving age rather than raising it. What do others think?

 

[Blob]

I was thinking the same thing that if they don't want to go to school at 14 then they are not going to keep going properly until 18. Plus they will just ruin class for the children who do want to learn. Perhaps if the children who obviously do t want to be there went off to learn something others would have a better chance. I don't know though as it's an awful young age to make that decision? I dont see why it has to change from 16? I mean they leave with something and it's slightly older to make a decision. At 14 are there really tht many children who will want to go and learn and get a job.

 

[Nibblenic]

Having been the person to try and convince employer to take on under 18's (FREE or for £2.50 an hour) The amount of people who want nothing to do with the 'youth' I would say is about 80% of people who have suitable job/on job training opportunities for them

Basically you are knackered either way. Near enough no one wants a 16-18 year old because they are unreliable, untrustworthy, have to have more H+S vetting, come in tired/drunk, have bad attitude. I dont think this is true of 80% of teens more like say 20% or even less, working on the Not in Education or Employment program may have sewed my view.
Then on the other side if you stay in education, say till 21, do a degree. No one wants you because you have no working experience. (unless youve managed to get a PT job or have been willing/able to work for free/voluntary) Or you too over qualified for the basic level jobs and they think youll leave as soon as a better off comes along.

Do I think the solution is to keep changing the school age. Most certainly not we need to look at the way the country views young people and the way the look at themselves. Having delivered NVQS, NEET programs and keys skills in maths, english and communication. I have seen the people the normal school system has failed. Maybe we failed them too, we most certainly didnt have a 100% success rating especially in the long term.

I do agree that formal education environments are suitable for the minority rather than the majority. However I think it is too idealist to believe that these children are going to be given work experience when society has such a bad view on these children. I think theyll just be even more lost in 'the system' than they are now.

 

[Eternal]

I see the argument for lowering it, it would make classes much nicer for those who want to learn.

However what happens to those 14 year olds? 14 is very young to make a decision about what you want to do with your life.

 

[smelly07]

I also think 14 is too young, i thought 16 was too young and was happy to think that my daughters have to stay in education of some sort until they are 18.

If a 14 year old can stop school they will, whos to say they will go on to do anything apart from sleep all day.

i think the option should be open to learn a trade and only do subjects that interest them but i do think that by law they need to be in school or learning a trade until at least 18 years of age.

 

[vaniilla]

I don't agree with that at all, 14 is too young to be out of education and if they are truanting then lowering the age will not solve anything as it doesn't address the problem, I think its fine at 16 the way it is now as far education goes but I think 18 is a good compulsory age for staying in some sort of training/education.

 

[marley2580]

I just find it insane that you can get married at 16 but could be made to stay in school for another 2 years! There are a lot of kids out there for whom school simply doesn't work and I think there needs to be another option.

 

[Twister]

I don't agree with lowering it, 14 is way to young. I know when I was 14 I wasn't thinking about leaving school or getting a job or anything like that and if I'd been given the option to leave I probably would have and not done anything with my life. I know in the old days kids left school at 14 to get a job but times have changed massively since then andp it just wouldn't work. Even at 16 I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do and spent two years at college and left without anything to show for it, complete waste of time and I regret it.

I just don't see how lowering it is going to solve anything, if anything it's likely to increase the number of people who spend their lives living off benefits and not wanting to work (obviously nothing against people who use te benefits system for genuine reasons). And isnt the legal working age in the uk 16 anyway? So theyd have to change that and send out their national insurance numbers at 14 instead of 16. Why not just create more practical based courses so that kids can choose whether they want to do more academic type courses or more practical interactive type courses. That way there will be something for everyone.

 

[smelly07]

I also think the legal age to get married and have sex should be higher to, but thats another thread LOL.

 

[vaniilla]

I also think the legal age to get married and have sex should be higher to, but thats another thread LOL.

I second this!

 

[Rhio92]

14 seems too young IMO... But on the other hand, if they stay in school, they'll probably be disruptive and make learning difficult for others... This is why I'm strongly against making them stay to 18!

 

[hopeandpray]

14 is too young, most people aren't ready to make a decision that big at that age.

 

[Rhio92]

14 is too young, most people aren't ready to make a decision that big at that age.

WSS, it's bad enough choosing your options at 14 x

 

[ahcigar1]

14 is WAY too young for a child to stop going to school or to even make that kind of decision. I think it should be a requirement to go to school through all 12 years. I don't even think kids should have an option at 16 to drop out. And as far as the whole disturbance excuse/reason goes I think that is rubbish. Parents and teachers need to be disciplining the kids more and making them do the right thing. Not just passing the problem off for someone else to take care of or ignoring it.

 

[marley2580]

See I think a lot of kids at 14 do have an idea of what they're interested in, they will certainly know whether or not school is right for them. My OH is a manager and left school at 16 for an apprenticeship, but he knew from an early age that school was not the best place for him to learn and would have left sooner if he could have.

 

[smelly07]

Even if children do know what they want to do, they are still too young to go out and work from 14, i think they should have the option to only study what interests them and then maybe have the option to go out on more work experience in their choosen area BUT making the LAW to allow children to leave school at 14 will just mean lots of more teenagers hanging about the streets because if they dont like school and dont need to go most wont.

 

[Ashley8806]

What 14 year old that you know actually WANTS to go to school? I feel this would be a disaster. Too many kids would drop out of school, and it would be a lot of more stress on the economy, etc, to support these kids when they are unemployed, have children and need welfare, etc. I'm not saying all school drop outs end up like this, but in general, if you think about it, a 14 year old on their own isn't really prepared for the real world.

 

[Nibblenic]

I have to agree and it wouldnt only be the non-academic children who did not attend school.
I am naturally academic and at 14 I was being bullied and would have given anything not to be there. Would that have been the right path for me, most certainly not.

 

[Yammas]

I can see the point of letting them leave making quieter lessons for those who want to be there, but if the children who want to leave dont want to go to school I severely doubt theyll want to work instead.

And as for the sex and marriage thing I dont know many people that got married that young so doubt it will make much difference and as for sex theyll just continue to do it under age as they already do.

 

[youngmummy94]

In Australia you must complete your Year 10 (School Certificate) and then until you are 17 you must be in either full time work, full time study or part time both.