But instead, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice in Barnet where he was being cared for persuaded the school to let him continue.
Nasif Hussain, now 20, went on to pass 13 GCSEs and three A-levels and has now been accepted at University College London.
“My link worker at the hospice has been a big help,” he says. “The school thought I should just give up on my GCSEs — but she talked them round.”
Nasif’s story is being told as a message for national ‘Hospice Week’ which started on Monday (October 6), to show that “hospice care is more than you think”.
Jo Isaacs, ‘family link’ manager at the hospice in High Barnet, who advocated for Nasif, said: “A life-threatening condition is devastating on its own — but to feel that your education has been forgotten must be unimaginable.
“Our job as a hospice is to make sure that these young people are seen, heard — and most importantly not forgotten.”
Noah’s Ark is sharing stories like Nasif’s to show that hospice care extends to the entire family, addressing their psychological, social and spiritual wellbeing and not just clinical needs.
Hospices like Noah’s Ark, which serves north London and neighbouring parts of Hertfordshire, admit they can’t change a diagnosis — but can help make the most of the time left that families have together.
Its chief executive Sophie Andrews said: “Every hospice up and down the country does amazing things for the people. We do all we can to help those we support to have a good quality of life, focusing on what they can do rather than what they can’t. We at Noah’s Ark help to create memories and joy for the children.”
Young people with life-threatening conditions so often get left behind, the hospice points out.
So it advocates for their “fundamental human right to an education”, for access to free primary schooling with secondary and higher education available to all.
The proof is Nasif Hussain, the transplant schoolboy from Camden, now going on to university despite his condition causing extreme pain and fatigue.
