Parents who took their children out of school for a family vacation to avoid high prices during school breaks have now lost their case in the UK’s highest court. The Supreme Court ruled last week that parents must keep the kids in school or face fines.
Recent studies have shown that the costs of vacations from Britain zoom whenever there’s a school break; many parents complain that if they have to go then, they can’t afford to go at all. The Supreme Court case came about when a family refused to pay a £60 fine, and won the point twice in lower courts. This time they lost.
The issue has gotten sharper for two reasons: the increasing cost issue, and a change in school attendance rules. It used to be possible for a school head to give permission for 10 days absence for a student who was doing well; now only illness is allowed.
