Clive and Elaine Swift of Lambourn, England, must pay nearly £750 for failing to ensure the regular attendance of their child at John O’Gaunt School in Hungerford.
Alex Kirk, representing the education authority of West Berkshire Council, said that there was “real concern” for the child’s education as a result of the parents’ decision to home school.
In a report prepared for the court, Kirk also stated that the child had the potential to achieve a number of GCSEs at levels A through to C if regular attendance at school was maintained.
While the Swifts admitted to the offence formally in a letter to court magistrates, they failed to communicate with the authorities on the matter, and also did not appear in the court for the sentencing.
Delivering the judgment, presiding magistrate Sue Campbell ordered that the Swifts pay a combined fine of almost £750. Due to their absence from the court, Campbell could said she could not issue a Parenting Order against them.
