Teachers claim male asylum seekers in their 20s are ending up in their schools after lying about their age to stay in the UK 

• Concerns that asylum seekers are being placed in schools too quickly
• Canterbury headteacher says boy who said he was 15 was in his twenties 
• Michael Walters said: 'Sometimes there is doubt about where they come from, and what age they are' 
• Fellow headteacher Nicki Martin said they need extra 'vigilence' because they must safeguard other pupils
• Kent County Council says young asylum seekers are 'rigorously assessed' 

By MARTIN ROBINSON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 15:37 GMT, 16 October 2014 | UPDATED: 00:42 GMT, 17 October 2014

Adult asylum seekers pretending to be children are being placed in schools alongside pupils as young as 11, headteachers claim.

Schools in Kent believe some people as old as 21 have lied about their ages, prompting concern over the safety of children in schools.

One headteacher, Michael Walters, fears in some cases asylum seekers are placed in mainstream education 'within days' without the necessary information.

He said he and other colleagues in Kent believe people had presented themselves as under 16 'only to find that they were clearly 20 or 21'. 

The county is considered the frontline of the arrival of immigrants into the UK because so many come through the Port of Dover.

Kent County Council currently has 38 unaccompanied asylum seeker children aged between five and 16 in their schools.

Asylum seekers may be tempted to reduce their age to secure preferential treatment, especially to get an education or improve their chances of staying in the UK.

They may also get better housing with foster carers rather than in shared accommodation with other adults.

Michael Walters, headteacher at St Anselm's RC Secondary School in Canterbury, said immigrant children - who arrive without parents - were being placed in schools in a 'random and haphazard' way with few checks on their backgrounds or ages.

Mr Walters said: 'While we have great sympathy with those unaccompanied asylum seekers who arrive in England in need of education and support, this does present a difficult position for schools.

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