IT is not anti-family holidays to declare yourself against children taking breaks during term-time.

Yet, the latest landmark High Court case is polarising public opinion. A determined father, Jon Platt, was at the centre of this ruling which concerns a £120 fine for taking his seven year-old daughter out of school for a week’s trip to Disney World.

He claimed that he shouldn’t be punished because his daughter’s school attendance record was exemplary at 92 per cent, and refused to pay. The High Court has now backed him – opening the door for parents around the country to legally take their children away outside school holidays.

Now we all know that holiday companies hike up prices during the annual school holidays. Most of us have suffered from this and it’s a huge example of commercial greed.

We probably also understand fines are the penalty you pay if you insist on taking little Leanne to Portugal on a bargain break in May. However, surely every responsible parent understands that any time away from school can put their child at a disadvantage in his or her studies, be it for illness or because it fits in better with a family’s holiday plans and budget?

I do wonder how parents would feel if teachers exercised the same rights with their children and simply holidayed in the same way. I bet the words “irresponsible” and “selfish” wouldn’t be far away from the lips of most parents whose children were affected then.

Mr Platt’s point about having an exemplary school record deserves praise but what would be his reaction if, during that week away, some vital subject was covered that his daughter never caught up on? Perhaps that knowledge gap suddenly shows up in one of the dreaded SATs, when I suspect his stance would be to blame the teachers.

It’s also important to keep in mind the many pupils who don’t have an exemplary school attendance record. For them, another week or fortnight away from schooling is yet another move further away from a rounded education.

Unfortunately, unless this legal loophole is closed – and quickly – there will be many who will simply book a break on the Costas and never mind the educational consequences.

If the Government can’t find a way to fine holiday companies for price-fixing rather than penalise parents, some hard thinking still needs to be done at home about education versus holidays.