School reports '30-year-old pupil' to authorities - as classmates claim he lied that he was aged 15 'to get GCSEs'

A photograph of the alleged 30-year-old pupil was posted on social media
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Patrick Grafton-Green2 November 2018

Authorities are investigating claims a 30-year-old man attended a secondary school posing as a 15-year-old GCSE pupil.

It is thought the pupil is an asylum seeker who joined at the start of the last term.

Another pupil at Stoke High School in Ipswich posted a photograph of him on Snapchat with the comment: "How's there a 30 year old man in our maths class."

The school said it had contacted the Home Office and would not be commenting further.

The pupil was attending Stoke High School in Ipswich
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A spokesman said: "This is a matter for the Home Office and we have referred it to them.

"The student is not attending the school at this time.

"We cannot comment further on an individual case but we have followed Government and local authority policies and guidance, as we do for any admissions matter."

Lewis Forte, whose step-daughter goes to the school, told the BBC he had raised concerns but was “shut down” by a teacher.

He said: "I went to the school to raise concerns about it and the teacher tried to shut me down by saying all his documents were present and correct which they probably were."

He said he is "very sorry" if the pupil is a child but added "this is something else".

Another worried parent, who did not want to be named, told the East Anglican Daily Times: “This is extremely concerning.

"He has told students he has had to lie to get into high school to complete his GCSEs.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We do not routinely comment on individual cases."

If there is a doubt about someone's age as part of an immigration case, the Home Office can arrange for social workers to undertake an age assessment.

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