Youngsters starting secondary school in Kent this week will have to stay on until they are 17.

The Government says it will raise standards and the Schools Secretary, Ed Balls, says pupils and prospective employers will both benefit.

Malcolm Ramsey, head teacher of the Towers School in Ashford, agrees.

He said it would “certainly bring us in line with what goes on in the rest of Europe where children stay on beyond 18.”

He went on to say that keeping students on would help them mature.

However, not everyone agrees that extending the leaving age is a good idea.

John Tipping lives near Dover and is self-employed. After leaving school at the age of 16 without any qualifications he has been working for himself for 12 years.

“It’s amazing how kids go out to start work and they haven’t been given the tools of life when leaving school.”

He hopes students will get training in how to handle the world of work during their final years, but has doubts about how much can be taught.

He said: “Teachers can only do so much, but it takes experience to be able to get out in the world and hold down a full-time job.”

“I don’t feel this extra year they’re going to have to do will work out the way the Government is hoping.”