‘He lashed out. He was scared’: the fight to save vulnerable UK children from being kicked out of school

Two hundred lawyers have come together to challenge a wave of discriminatory exclusions When he started secondary school in Hackney, east London, at the age of 11, Sam* had high attainment levels and loved learning. At the end of the introductory week, he was given an award for being a “star”. Less than two weeks later, a courier delivered a letter to his home saying that he had been ­permanently excluded. Government data released this summer showed there were a record 9,400 permanent exclusions in 2022-23, up 45% from 6,500 in 2021-22. Sam, who lives on a council estate with his Cameroonian mother and has been diagnosed with ADHD and autism, is among the most likely ­children in the country to be thrown out of school.