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Father wins term-time holiday High Court ruling

A father who refused to pay a £120 fine for taking his daughter out of school during term-time for an unauthorised holiday has won a legal challenge at the High Court.

Jon Platt was fined by Isle of Wight Council after he took his family on the holiday, which included a visit to Disney World, without permission from his child's school.

The ruling raises the prospect of similar challenges from parents of children in English state schools, for which tightened rules on authorised absences were introduced by the government in 2013.

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Term-time holiday dad: School rules are draconian

A father who won a High Court victory today over his daughter's absence from school said "hundreds of thousands of parents across England" will be delighted with the outcome of the landmark case.

Jon Platt had refused to pay a £120 fine for taking his six-year-old daughter out of school for seven days for a family holiday last year because of her regular attendance, but the Isle of Wight council pursued a case in the High Court.

"We've had to live with this draconian situation where taking your kids on a family holiday amounted to a criminal offence," Mr Platt said after the ruling.

Today's ruling raises the prospect of similar challenges from parents of children in English state schools, following rules on authorised absences being tightened in 2013.

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Father wins term-time holiday High Court ruling

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