Term time holiday ban for Isle of Man school

Parents of pupils at a secondary school on the Isle of Man have been banned from taking their children out of school for holidays during term time.

In a letter to parents, head teacher of Ramsey Grammar School Annette Baker said future requests would be refused.

Figures from the island's education department show a correlation between poor attendance and lower GCSE grades.

Ms Baker said she had become "increasingly concerned" by the number of pupils missing lessons.

The letter said only 16% of students whose attendance was below 91% achieved exams results in the A*-C bands.

The Department of Education, Sport and Culture introduced island-wide rules on holidays during term time a decade ago, but allowing absences for limited periods has remained at the discretion of head teachers.

The department said pupils who have attendance records of 80%, which equates to missing two months of school, are in the "danger zone".

In the letter Ms Baker said: "Requests for term time leave of absence for a holiday will definitely not be authorised unless circumstances are exceptional."

The new school policy will be enforced from September 2019.