A 14-year-old London boy sent to boarding school in Ghana by his UK-based Ghanaian parents has been granted permission by the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed that he was tricked by his parents and taken from London—where he was born—to attend a boarding school in Ghana in March 2024.
He said his parents had told him they were visiting a sick relative.
The teenager initially brought a legal challenge against his parents to the High Court in London in February this year, but was unsuccessful in having the decision overturned and returning home. He remains enrolled at the school in Ghana.
The court heard that the boy was homesick, while his parents argued that their decision was made in his best interest. They said they were concerned that their son was being drawn into criminal activity in the British capital, where a high number of black teenagers have been involved in fatal knife crimes.
On Thursday, the Court of Appeal ruled that the boy’s case could be reheard.
Sir Andrew McFarlane, a judge in the Family Division, said there had been confusion in the earlier decision.
“We have become more and more concerned as to the exercise the judge undertook,” he said, urging the family to find a resolution through constructive dialogue.
The boy’s lawyer, Deirdre Fottrell KC, told the court: “He is culturally displaced and alienated. He considers himself abandoned by his family. He feels he is a British boy, a London boy.”
However, the parents’ lawyer, Rebecca Foulkes, said: “The parents found themselves in a wholly invidious position when they made the decision they did. Ghana provided a safe haven, separate from those who exposed him to risk. The least harmful option is for him to remain in Ghana.”
In the earlier High Court judgment, Mr Justice Hayden said he believed the boy had “at the very least, peripheral involvement with gang culture and has exhibited an unhealthy interest in knives.”
It is not uncommon for Black parents in the UK to send their “wayward” children to Africa or the Caribbean in hopes that they will become more “disciplined” within societies perceived to be stricter.
The case has taken on even greater significance among parents in London who are deeply concerned about the high rate of knife crime among Black teenagers.
Although Black people make up 13.5% of London’s population, they account for 47.4% of those arrested for knife-related offences, compared to 36.5% for white individuals, according to the Metropolitan Police.
The situation has become so severe that the UK government has appointed British actor Idris Elba—who has Ghanaian and Sierra Leonean heritage—to lead efforts to tackle the knife crime crisis.
Elba has been meeting with young offenders, bereaved families, and police officers to better understand the rising trend in knife violence.
In the boy’s case, a full written judgment is expected at a later date.
