A mother who took her children out of school during term-time to celebrate being free of cancer was fined £788 because she didn't have an 'exceptional' reason. But Central Lancaster High School only responded two days before they were due to travel - too late for them to re-book the holiday. After appealing the decision, last month the McDermotts, of Lancaster, were fined a total of £788 for taking their children out of school without permission. The couple say their secondary school aged children, Joseph, 14, and Oliver, 12, have never applied for leave from their school before. Number of parents fined for taking their children on holiday during school terms soars by 93 per cent The number of parents fined for their children's poor attendance at school rocketed by 93% to almost 223,000 in 2017-18.

Source: Daily Mail July 18, 2019 09:55 UTC