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Father wins term-time holiday court case

A father has won a High Court ruling after refusing to pay a fine for taking his daughter on holiday during term-time.

Jon Platt was fined £120 by Isle of Wight Council for taking his daughter on a seven-day family holiday to Florida without permission from the school.

The case went before Magistrates’ Court in October and he won the case.

But the local authority appealed the decision in the High Court.

The judges dismissed the council’s challenge and now campaigners say the case could pave the way for how the law is applied in the future.

Lord Justice Lloyd Jones and Mrs Justice Thirlwall ruled that the magistrates had not “erred in law” when reaching their decision, according to the BBC.

Since 2013, head teachers can only grant leave of absence to pupils during term time in “exceptional circumstances”, but many parents complain that the cost of going away in the school holidays can be four times as much as during term time.

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