[polly]

In the 1980's I had the privilege to teach a group of totally un teachable boys.
They were in year 11 and non academic. Before I got them they had seen off 3 supply teachers in 2 weeks.
Talking with them was an eye opener and taught me so much. They could see no point in school. They knew they were not going to get any worthwhile exam results and 10 out of 12 of them already had jobs to go to. Ok admittedly most of these were jobs with family or friend where all they really need was brawn not brains.
They could not wait till they were 16 and could escape the educational system. Had they had to wait to be 17 or 18 to leave there would have been a riot.Even Aa formal training system would have been very unwanted and resented as they just wanted their freedom

My opinion is that some people are not ready for formal education as teenagers. Education should be open to all throughout life and let the individual decide when and if they are ready to study. I predict disaster if kids who dont want to be there are kept on until they are 18