DfES Green paper March 2007 that presents the case  for a raised participation age.  Read the document in full here: Raising Expectations: staying in education and training post 16

The executive summary begins: 'The future of our society depends on the education we provide to our young people. We need to make sure that all young people start adult life with the skills, qualities and attributes they will need to make a success of their lives. Never before has it been as important as it is today for every young person to achieve a good level of skill – for young people themselves, for the economy and for society. As the Leitch Review makes clear, there will be many fewer jobs in future for those who lack such skills. 2. It is no longer a sensible option for a young person to leave education for good at 16 in order to seek work. The great majority of young people already do stay on beyond 16 and there is a risk that it will only be the more vulnerable and lower-achieving who drop out at 16. Yet they are precisely the group who have the greatest need to stay on – so that they can achieve useful skills which will prepare them for life. The time has come to consider whether society is letting these young people down by allallowing them to leave education and training for good at 16, knowing that they are not adequately prepared for life. '