Teenage asylum seekers arriving after start of UK school year in ‘no man’s land’, report says

Many considered too old to be easily integrated into mainstream schooling and too young for further education

Thousands of teenage asylum seekers are thought to be spending up to a year out of education in a no man's land" because schools are reluctant to accept them if they arrive after September, a report warns.

Teenage asylum seekers are seen as too old to be easily integrated into mainstream schooling and too young for further education, leaving many stuck in a limbo that leaves them vulnerable to isolation, mental health deterioration and exploitation, according to research conducted by the charity Refugee Education UK (REUK) and funded by the Bell Foundation, an education charity.