Stay in Ghana boarding school-London court orders boy who sued parents

A High Court in London has ruled that a 14-year-old British boy who sued his parents for sending him to a boarding school in Ghana must remain there until he completes his GCSEs.

The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was taken to Ghana in March 2024 under the pretext of visiting a sick relative — but later discovered his parents had arranged for him to stay there permanently due to concerns about his behaviour in London.

According to court documents, his parents had become alarmed by truancy, unexplained money, and allegations of carrying a knife, though the teenager denied being part of a gang or possessing any weapon.

Delivering judgement on Monday, Mrs Justice Theis ruled that the teenager should remain in Ghana until he finishes his secondary school examinations, saying returning to the UK now could cause “greater disruption” to both his education and family stability.

The judge also set out a “roadmap” for the boy’s eventual return, including family therapy sessions to be funded by the local authority.

The case began in February, when the boy — describing his life in Ghana as “living in hell” — secured publicly funded lawyers and took his parents to the High Court, arguing that he had been abandoned.