HC Deb 20 March 1974 vol 870 cc1028-9
29. Mr. Hunter

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has had requesting that secondary school pupils should be allowed to leave school on their sixteenth birthday if desired; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Robert Hughes

Since the raising of the school leaving age a number of bodies, including teachers' associations and education authorities, and a few individual parents, have pressed for this change in the law.

Mr. Hunter

Is my hon. Friend aware that the son of a constituent of mine will miss a very good apprenticeship by one day, but that the father can get over this problem simply by passing the boy over to a relative for two or three months, because the school holiday period is different in another education authority?

Mr. Hughes

I am aware that if any date is chosen there is always someone who falls on the wrong side of that date. It should be borne in mind in connection with employment that there would need to be a change in legislation if the present arrangements were to be changed to allow a child to leave school whilst still of school age. Therefore, the matter is not as easy as perhaps appears at first sight.

Mr. MacArthur

Will the Under-Secretary state whether the present Government will go ahead with the review which the last administration had in mind, of problems arising from the raising of the school leaving, age? If that is the present Government's intention, will the hon. Gentleman bear in mind when he conducts that review that it is unacceptable today that a reluctant pupil who has a job to go to should be forced to stay on at school beyond his sixteenth birthday?

Mr. Hughes

I shall have to see what transpires in the next few months. Obviously, something of this kind will always be subject to review and consideration. We want to make arrangements to ensure that pupils attending school are not reluctant attenders beyond the age of 16. It is the purpose of this Government to make education something which children will want, enjoy and benefit from.

Mr. Lawson

Will my hon. Friend assure the House that whatever he may do in this connection he will certainly ensure that the standards in Scotland in this respect are not lower than they are in England and Wales?

Mr. Hughes

Of course I can give that assurance.

Mr. Steel

I understood that the Under-Secretary of State said earlier that there were good educational reasons for keeping children in school beyond their sixteenth birthday. As I have had many representations from parents, pupils and teachers against this proposition, will the Under-Secretary of State say where he is getting his advice from?

Mr. Hughes

The advantage is that education authorities and schools will be able so to arrange courses as to benefit children and to know when they are going to leave school. It also means that they can round off the children's education properly. That is a major advantage. It is worth while stating that there is pressure from another source that instead of two leaving dates there should be only one. So the pressures are not only one way.