A school that has all the comforts of home

After all, it's not normal for a teenage girl to be taken out of school three years before her GCSEs.

Carrie Barker hated school, she was uninspired by the teachers, got picked on for her gothic fashion and didn't care about homework.

She wasn't learning much and was miserable at the same time.

So before things got any worse, her mother, Karen, decided enough was enough. She took Carrie, who was 13, out of school and decided to teach her by herself at home.

"I found out my mum had been thinking about it for a long time," says Carrie. "She admits now it was a very scary step but it couldn't really have turned out any better."

Karen says that once the decision was made, she knew there was no turning back.

"I knew I'd made the right decision when I told Carrie it was time to buy a school uniform after the summer holidays and she just went white," says Karen. "She was not enjoying school at all, not getting anything out of it. This was a really angry kid who was behaving quite obnoxiously towards me.

"She got to the point where I asked her whether she'd done her homework and she said she didn't care."

Carrie, who is now 14 and lives in the Tolladine area of Worcester, is one of about 150,000 children in Britain educated at home; that's about one per cent, yet many people wonder whether it is even legal.

But, in fact, parents do not need qualifications and you do not need to teach the national curriculum.

Karen was surprised how easy the process was. She says she gets a huge amount of support from an education officer from Worcestershire County Council, who checks Carrie's work every few months and ensures she is getting a satisfactory education.

"The immediate reaction from people was, 'She must have been expelled'," says Karen.

"Then, when I explained what we were doing, they assumed it would be illegal. Some people were even saying, 'She must be pregnant'.

"I was asked by the local authority why I wanted to take her out of school, and I had to give valid reasons."

Karen is a single mother, and Carrie appreciates that she has been fortunate that her mum has the time to teach her.

Everyone could do it if they wanted, says Karen, even if they were working. She has no extra training and she tends to learn alongside Carrie, after buying lots of books about each subject's syllabus.

She dismisses worries about Carrie not having the opportunity to learn subjects that need specialist equipment or knowledge, such as PE, French or practical chemistry - she didn't enjoy the first two anyway, and she can get enough science facts from books.

"Science, English and maths are a must," says Karen, "but she picks things she wants to cover.

"She's now very interested in organic gardening and says, 'Mum, if I'd said that at school I'd have been beaten up'."

Eighteen months on and Carrie has never looked back.

"It's the best move I've ever made," she says. "It's baffling how my confidence has grown and how my whole personality has changed, just from learning at home.

"I can get a lot more done at home and I'm just a better person.

"There's so much nonsense taught in school, so much chaos in the classroom that you end up learning very little. I would definitely recommend it to my friends."

Since she is not being forced to stick to a strict curriculum, she is happier to pursue topics that interest her.

"I was always the quiet one in school who didn't say anything. It was pretty awful, but now I'm learning loads and my confidence has gone much higher."

BLACKBOARD

Don't let fear of debt put you off going to university

WITH Christmas holidays not yet a distant memory, it is easy to forget that in just a couple of weeks prospective university students need to make one of the most important decisions of their lives.

They must choose which higher education course to study and where in time for the UCAS application deadline on Sunday, January 15.

With a massive 50,000 higher education courses across the Britain to select from, there is something to appeal to virtually everyone.

Applicants making their final higher education choices this winter break are urged by the Government not to let their Christmas financial hangover cloud their financial planning, and to fully consider the new financial support package on offer to all prospective students.

Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell said: "There is no doubt that higher education can improve your chances of a rewarding job and a good salary, and your student years can be some of the best times of your life.

"As the UCAS deadline looms, many prospective students and their parents begin to get nervous about the practicalities of university life, in particular how they will afford it.

"In the aftermath of an expensive Christmas, money worries can often seem even more pressing, but we want to reassure people that higher education need not be a financial burden, thanks to the new financial help package on offer from September 2006.

"Crucially, the new system is much fairer due to the fact that students study first and pay back when earning. Students don't pay a penny for fees or loans until they're in work and earning more than £15,000, and even then they could be paying as little as £5.19 per week."

For more information about the range of financial help available for students, log on to www.direct.gov. uk/studentfinance

Don't let fear of debt put you off going to university

WITH Christmas holidays not yet a distant memory, it is easy to forget that in just a couple of weeks prospective university students need to make one of the most important decisions of their lives.

They must choose which higher education course to study and where in time for the UCAS application deadline on Sunday, January 15.

With a massive 50,000 higher education courses across the Britain to select from, there is something to appeal to virtually everyone.

Applicants making their final higher education choices this winter break are urged by the Government not to let their Christmas financial hangover cloud their financial planning, and to fully consider the new financial support package on offer to all prospective students.

Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell said: "There is no doubt that higher education can improve your chances of a rewarding job and a good salary, and your student years can be some of the best times of your life.

"As the UCAS deadline looms, many prospective students and their parents begin to get nervous about the practicalities of university life, in particular how they will afford it.

"In the aftermath of an expensive Christmas, money worries can often seem even more pressing, but we want to reassure people that higher education need not be a financial burden, thanks to the new financial help package on offer from September 2006.

"Crucially, the new system is much fairer due to the fact that students study first and pay back when earning. Students don't pay a penny for fees or loans until they're in work and earning more than £15,000, and even then they could be paying as little as £5.19 per week."

For more information about the range of financial help available for students, log on to www.direct.gov. uk/studentfinance