Parents at school where ’30-year-old asylum seeker’ is studying for GCSEs are keeping their children home

STUDENTS are being kept at home from school where 30-year-old asylum seeker is apparently studying for his GCSEs.

The 6ft 1in student is believed to have arrived in the UK from Iran via Germany without paperwork, telling authorities he's 15.

But a Home Office investigation has been launched after he allegedly told another pupil he's a married dad-of-two.

The Year 11 pupil, who is apparently 15, had been due to take his mock GCSE maths exam today, but has not been seen since Thursday morning.

Desmond Newby, 51, and wife Victoria, 32, said they were keeping their daughters Jamie, 15, and Alicia, 13, away from the school until they had an assurance that the pupil would not be going back.

Mr Newby said: "I want some answers from the school before I allow my daughters back, because at the moment we simply are not getting them.

"I know he is not at the school at the moment, but we need to know that he is not returning, and we need an assurance that this is not going to happen again

"He is clearly far older than the age he claims to be. All the kids realise that he is actually a man – so why did the school allow him to become a student.

"If I went to the school wearing a school uniform and demanding an education, I would be turned away straight away – yet he was allowed to stay. It defies all common sense.

"I can’t say what this guy’s motives are, but it is a serious safeguarding issue.You simply should not have a fully grown man sitting in a class of children.

"Nobody knows what he is up to because nobody knows anything about him. It is the fault of the authorities for accepting that he is 15-years-old when he clearly is not."

The school which is run by the Ormiston Academies Trust wrote to parents about the boy for the first time today to confirm that the Home Office was investigating his status.

The letter sent by email confirmed that the Home Office was investigating the status of the pupil, but did not rule out that he might return in the future and simply said that he was not at the school "at this time".

It's since emerged that the student, who speaks in broken English, apparently admitted he's much older than his classmates.

Classmates are reported to have found a Facebook profile in his name, which apparently shows him with a full beard, hairy chest and drinking beer.

Parents found out about the issue when a Snapchat picture of him in a lesson was circulated with the caption: "How’s there a 30-year-old man in our maths class?";

Student Jamie said that she had seen the pupil sitting his English and Science exams on Wednesday and Thursday last week, but he was absent from his maths exam today.

She added: "A lot of student seems to be staying away from the school. There were a large number of empty seats in the exam hall today."

The Ormiston Academies Trust did not respond to a request for comment on the number of pupils being kept out of the school by parents.

The Home Office has also refused to comment, saying it does not discuss individual cases.

A mother of another pupil told over the weekend how the the pupil had told her son that he was aged 25 and was married with two children when he was asked if he wanted to join in a game of football at break time.
It was also revealed that the pupil allegedly bombarded a 15-year-old girl classmate with text messages, prompting her to complain to safeguarding staff – because she was worried about his true age.

But the girl was told that there was nothing "sinister"; about the texts as they were not of a sexual nature.

When shown the alleged Facebook picture of the pupil with a beard, the teacher allegedly said that people matured at different ages.

The Facebook profile found by pupils described the pupil as having been an architecture student at the Islamic Azad University in Abadan, Iran, before living in Erfurt, Germany.