A British court has said that a 14-year-old boy who sued his parents after being transferred to boarding school in Ghana must stay there until he finishes the equivalent of his GCSEs.
The kid, whose name cannot be revealed for legal reasons, was flown to Ghana in March 2024 under the guise of seeing a sick family member.
However, court documents show that his parents had planned the relocation because they were worried about his behavior in London, which included skipping school, having unexplained money, and having a knife. The child says he didn’t have a weapon or do anything with a group.
Mrs. Justice Theis of the High Court ruled Wednesday that the youngster should stay in Ghana to finish his schooling, even though he wants to go back to the UK.
“I know that the decision I made does not match [his] wishes and how that will feel for him,” she stated. [He] has the skills, intelligence, and talent to make things work with his family. It will be hard, but they all want [him] to come back and live with his family.
The youngster, who was “unhappy and homesick,” contacted publicly financed lawyers and filed a case against his parents in February 2025. This ruling is the most recent development in that case. At first, he lost the case because the High Court said that going back to the UK would put him in “greater harm.”
However, in June the Court of Appeal ordered a new hearing because Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, said that the previous decision was confusing in terms of procedure.
The boy, who is a citizen of both the UK and Ghana, told the court that he felt “like an alien” in Ghana and that his time there was “living in hell.” He said he had trouble making friends, didn’t speak Twi, and was anxious about being among other people.
James Netto, his lawyer from the International Family Law Group, said that his client “welcomes” the judge’s decision to give him a “road map” for his ultimate homecoming. However, he also said that “his position remains unchanged: he wants to return home.”
Mr. Netto said that the matter had been “extremely difficult on every level” and that the youngster didn’t want to sue his parents but had “no meaningful alternative.”
The boy’s mother told the court that she was still worried about her son’s safety if he went back to the UK too soon.
She said, “It’s really hard to be away from him.”
“I was afraid, and I still am, that if he came back now, he might die.” I know he doesn’t think that way.
Mrs. Justice Theis told the boy that he should “stay in Ghana with the goal of making a plan and taking the necessary steps for [him] to return here after completing his GCSEs.” She also said that his position “will need to be reviewed closer to the time.”
The plan involves continuous family therapy paid for by the local government to help the boy get back to living in the UK.
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