If your 17 year old wanted to take a day off school to attend the student funding march on Wed would you condone it

Of course he should go, it sounds great that he wants to, and I'm not sure I understand your DH's position unless your DS has a habit of missing school which he doesn't.

PropertySnake - how bloody rude.

Good on him for actually being bothered. I work in higher ed and we had a meeting today about staffing and the outcome after the cuts hit/tuition fees rise. I admit to feeling as miserable as sin tonight.

Defiantly! Good for him for taking a stand about his future and not like the majority who will just moan and do nothing. This is probably more important to him and his future then one day at school.

Good luck convincing DH

I'll be the one with the M and S bag full of food

He sounds a bit of a sap. Tell him to either go or don't go.

If this is what the next generation of politcal activists looks like then gawd help us.

Yes, he'll be a voter in a few months time, and we want an electorate who care about political issues.

Good on your son, you've clearly done a great job raising him. Now he's almost a man, don't let your DH start holding him back.

Keep a perspective on one school day versus a formative political/democractic experience he will remember for years.

I'd let him go in a heartbeat.

The more active, politically-aware young people we have, the better.

Maybe your son can help turn the tide, as we're currently a nation that seem to be happy to sit back and take whatever crap is flung at us.

One day off school is not a big deal, and he's 17 so presumably able to weigh up the situation for himself.

Well I'm going, and I'm 46. Don't tell me mum, though. She'll go MAD......

edam, I am not happy with students taking the day off to campaign for the Countryside Alliance or for this. I think that they may be being influenced politically by politically motivated teachers. I think that many Labour types are happy to encourage pupils to take a day off school to campaign for political causes that Labour types believe in, but would not support it for other causes, such as the Countryside Alliance.

I'm not a supporter of the Countryside Alliance and I am against these ridiculous rises in tuition fees, but I am against encouraging pupils to miss school.

some L6 at school are planning to go, but the school have just e-mailed to say they are not sanctioning it, so it remains the be seen how many actually attend. The school's reasons seem to be: worries over their personal safety; and doubts over (some of) their political motivations.

Oh, and Claig, has it occurred to you that Slug's students who were galvanised by the Iraq war may well have voted against the then government - i.e. for the current lot?

Slug, that's a heartening story, especially about your students then casting their votes.

Claig, so what you really object to are 'Labour types'? And you'd be happy with a 17yo attending a Countryside Alliance march? Seems to me your view is there should be one rule for people of your political persuasion and another rule for everyone else...

Claig. It was an FE college, so the students could do what they liked. For many of them it was a political awakening and something I was more than happy to support. I didn't go on the protest, I had work to do.

Yes, it's brilliant that he feels passionately about something. My only concern is violence. My 15 year old daughter wanted to go on the climate change protest when she was 13, I wouldn't let her as she was so young and also I was scared of a clash with the police. She is a very forthright young lady and I could actually imagine her getting into a tussle with the police! But certainly for a 17 year old, I think they're old enough to be trusted.

You are paying his fees at the independent school. I can see why your DH thinks that it is not a good idea.

Many of the activists on this protest will be Labour party activists, the sort that are also against independent schools. the reason I mentioned teh Countryside Alliance is that these Labour tyopes would not encourage schoolchildren to join in one of their marches, but there will be many 6th form colleges who do encourage pupils to join in this one. I've got nothing against Countryside Alliance or this march, but I think it is a slippery slope to allow children or 6th form college students to take the day off to participate in protests. Where will it end? and who will decide which cause is politically important enough to allow for days off?

These 6th form colleges that encourage children to join in, will presumably have few pupils at school on that day. Will they still teach the few that turn up to school? and will they have encouraged some students to go along with peer pressure and protest when they might have preferred to study at school?

I agree with the changes to student funding but would encourage my child to protest against them if she wanted to.

slug, I think that was a worthy protest, but I don't think it is right to encourage schoolchildren to join in, because there is a danger that teachers may be influencing them politically. Would you also positively shoo your students out of the class and encouraged them to join in a Countryside Alliance march?

I remember the pictures on TV of parents and young children with banners, marching and protesting against the reselection of Hazel Blears. That was in the evening after school, and it wouldn't have been right to encourage them to take a day off school to join in, even though many in the country would consider that a very worthwhile protest.

If you told your employer that you were taking a day off to join the protest, how do you think they would they react? unless they were one of these 6th form colleges who were intentionally giving their pupils permission to take the day off and join in.

I would let him go, its good to see young people being politically active

On the day the bombs started dropping on Baghdad I postivily shooed my students out of the class and encouraged them to join in the (pre planned) protest march to parliament. They came back the next day buzzing with the experience. These were students from deprived backgrounds whose families and community have a history of not voting. The experience galvanised a large chunk of them to think about their involvement in the political process and many of them have since proudly told me of voting in their first election.

Yes they lost some teaching time, but the knock on effect was far greater than the teaching lost.