Teenager has university place withdrawn due to spent conviction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.

i agree a steep learnign curve
maybe he coudl become a teahcer intead
ANY old fool cna do that

my daughter smacked a girl in the face yesterday when they were playing. I suspect on purpose. She had some time on the naughty step, but there goes my plans for her to be a doctor, sigh.

Surely not every university will be as hardline as this? Imperial are entitled to their view, but other places would probably commend his strength of character in distancing himself from his dodgy past.

see... youthful indiscretion? he was in someone's house. that's not indiscreet, that's breaking and entering. i don't have a huge amount of sympathy tbh. i'm sure he'll get in somewhere else, but i basically agree with tutter's point.

(I have been burgled before, it sucks, big time. But if I caught the wanker person who did it, and they had really turned their life around, I might be willing to forgive the broken window & the stolen laptop)

"if you nip in your next door neighbour's house and steal a loaf of bread technically you have committed burglary, believe it or not".

what else would you call it? blimey, if my neighbour nipped into my house and stole a loaf of bread i'd wring his fookin' neck.

What is the point in our justice system if 'spent' convictions can make people judge you like this?

this is just one uni of hundreds, he'll get in somewhere else. fuss about nothing imo.

Not really fuss about nothing. It is discrimination IMO.

He made a stupid mistake at 15. I can't believe it even comes into play.

what about all the other kids who didn't make a stupid mistake? actually, i don't think being in someone else's house is just 'stupid'. it's wrong and he must have known it was wrong. and 15 isn't even that young imo.

well, afaia it's only imperial who are saying that he can't be a doctor, it's not a country-wide ban. serves him right that he'll have to go somewhere less prestigious.

Did you never do anything as a teenager that you would never do now? That you knew was wrong? I know I did.

Which other kids are you referring to?

If you mean the others that didn't get in to university - well, I am sure they had reasons, or were unlucky. However, to cite this as a reason to not let him in in shocking.

He has served his time. It should be over.

Not sure that I totally undertand. Heard him on PM this evening. He was advised by UCAs not to disclose the information until he had a place on the basis that it was a spent conviction and at that stage he hadn't lied.

Then, when he was offered a place, he wrote to the university and admitted he had a criminal record. They did an enhanced search on crb (criminal record bureau) which showed that while spent, nevertheless had a record.

They then withdrew the offer, which they have discretion to do, on the basis of him being 'unfit to practice' which seems to me should have been the GMC, and not the university to decide?

Personally, I think it depends on the crime, the severity and what one has done since.

i don't think it is, tbh. i think that if there is one place and two kids from the same background and one has a spent conviction and the other doesn't, sack the ex-crim.

sometimes i tire of all the bleeding-heart stuff on MN, tbh. he'll get in somewhere else. he should be ashamed of himself and just suck up the fact that he did a shit thing and it's having repercussions on his life.

I think he has been treated very harshly. I used to go out with a twat man who was convicted of drink driving while at university. He was studying law and is now a practising solicitor - no extra time for the conviction to be spent so it is not automatic

Aitch - I shall assume from your rather narrow-minded opinions of 'ex-crim's' that you don't have any friends of family who have ever been convicted of anything.

My sister was convicted of theft at 16, she stole £20 from a shop she worked in. She was 16, and had a horrible, bullying 'friend' who 'forced' her to steal the money.

She is a nurse now.Is she not deserving of her job?

FFS this attitude is so DM.

Note to self: must add 'this is so DM' to the cliches thread.

i've repeatedly said that he will get into another institution, so no doubt like your sister he will have his career. tough shit to him that he didn't get his first choice.

Yeah, tough shit. And tough for all the rest that presumably didn't get into that course.

But do you honestly think that his spent conviction is a decent reason?

Apparently he wrote to the University after being offered a place and told them about his spent conviction, it was then that they withdrew the offer.

yep.

and you're 'i will assume' is wrong btw. and my friend was an adult who felt very harshly treated by the system etc. i had no problem essentially saying tough shit to his face.

your