Teenager has university place withdrawn due to spent conviction

[melpomene]

Story here

I feel sorry for him. He must have been 15 or 16 when he committed the offence and it sounds as if it was an insolated offence and he got himself back on track.

it's not a sex offence though, so that's completely irrelevant.

but sex offenses are taken into consideration with reference to job checks etc, depending on what job you are doing and whether you would be deemed to be at risk in that role.

Same way that fraud would be considered seriously if applying to be accountant etc.

he must have been pretty stupid to do it in the first place, fine material for a doctor

at 15 he should have known better, have no sympathy for him

but shodul all spent convictions be not allowed on application forms

ime its serious dishonesty
it shows a stupendous lack fo judgemtn at , yes a young age but one where he DOES know right from wrong

I think its a shame that a moments stupidity could deprive a worthy candidate of a career.

I am having a bit of a wibble about this and would like to hear (from an independent third party) exactly what happened when he was caught.

This does seem harsh.

The guy in question is probably wracked with remorse at his actions. I was when it happened to me.( I wasn't a burglar!)

I think you can make a case for making allowances for young people, particularly adolescents. They are famously impetuous. One escapade doesn't necessarily mean that they have deep character flaws.

For instance - just imagine how admissions numbers would be affected if anyone who had ever used illegal drugs was refused entry to medical school.

OK I'm going to get slated but....

I bet you it wouldn't have happened if his name had been John Smith.

I think that Twiglett has made the best point - what if he was up against your child with no previous offenses?

OH ok then, lock him up and throw away the key. How very dare he make a terrible mistake, how very dare he then go on to turn his life around and get a decent education.

Let's just throw him out into the streets for the next 60 or 70 years. It's not like we need doctors in this country is it?

ib, I think it would have happened.

"I think that Twiglett has made the best point - what if he was up against your child with no previous offenses? " what if it were your own child who turned his life around?

I think it's harsh.

For a start there is no way you would ever know of the criminal past or otherwise of any of the other candidates. And also, is there no room for recognising that a person wants to make the best of themselves?

Dear god.

This boy made a mistake, a big one, at 15. He served his time, and that part of his life is over. He has clearly tried to turn his life around and, until now it seems, he has done very well.

This is shocking in the extreme in my opinion.

Do people not deserve a second chance? Should we write off the lives of all young offenders?

Appalling.

why doesn't he just try another university?

Jesus! how many of your kids who 'know right from wrong' have done things wrong? How many of your children will do more things wrong? If you think you're going to be raising the perfect children who never do anything wrong, who are never influenced by their friends or by what goes on around them then I imagine you might possibly be in for a shock when they do something you feel is fundamentally wrong in the future. Then again, you'll know what to do... no more chances, sling 'em out, block all their future opportunities - that'll work.

But if you have to declare them,even spent ones, they always will define you(not talking about sex offences etc)

The conviction is spent

Kids from rough areas are more likely to end up as under achievers

There are few high achieving role models, especially for boys, from rough areas

The medical profession is unrepresentative of society as a whole

The Russell Group of Universities is unrepresentative of universities

Yeah, I'd say never give anyone a second chance, especially when the criminal justice system has already dealt with the perpetrator and he was 15.