Steven
My parents sent me to drama school when I was eight.
It is the biggest drama school in the country. The school day begins at eight o’clock. We do dance, music, theatre or project work in the morning. After lunch, we change into our school uniform and have normal school lessons until 4.30 pm. Sometimes at the weekend we put on shows or have sports competitions with other schools. I love it!
Martin
My parents started teaching me at home when we moved to the countryside because my old school was too far away.
I wake up at eight o’clock and begin classes an hour later. In the mornings, my mum teaches me Maths and Science. In the afternoon, I do sports or Art with my dad. My weekends are free. I like home schooling because I can sometimes choose my own projects and I can wear what I like.
Thomas
I live in my school and I go home to see my parents in the holidays. They live in France, so sometimes I miss them.
We wake up early – at 6.45 am, have breakfast and start the first lesson at 8.40 am. There are six lessons every weekday. We also have two lessons on Saturday morning. There is no uniform, but we have to wear smart clothes.
I am not great at studying, but I win a lot of prizes for football and tennis.

Journalist Sara Wheeler writes about her meeting with the artist Philip Hughes and the discussion they had about their experiences in Antarctica.
Antarctica has had a powerful effect on both explorers and scientists. In 1994 I discovered why, when I spent seven months there collecting material for a travel book. I have often thought the amazing emptiness of this region would attract the interest of many landscape painters and yet, throughout history, only a small number have actually been there.
In 2003, one of them, the 67-year-old painter Philip Hughes, opened a one-man show in London called simply ‘Antarctica’. Until 1975, Hughes’s paintings were mostly of the South Downs in England, but at this point, Hughes decided he
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wanted to paint more distant lands. First, he travelled to South America. Then in 2001, he spent five weeks in Antarctica, dividing his time between Rothera, a British research centre on Adelaide Island, and a science camp up on the West Antarctic ice sheet.
Antarctica simply isn’t like anywhere else on this planet and for me this was the best thing about my visit. It is one-and-a-half times bigger than the United States but it is very peaceful. It also never gets dark. When I went to Hughes’s show, we looked at his paintings together. He explained, ‘I was just amazed by the beauty of Antarctica. It didn’t matter that our nearest neighbours were 800 kilometres away.’
The temperatures can be extreme. At my camp they reached -115°C and at times I felt terrible. But back in England, looking at Hughes’s painting ‘Leonie Island at Midnight’, I remembered what Antarctica was like when a storm ended. It was as if the world was new. Then I wondered why I came back. Hughes was there in summer, and the temperatures were around zero. He could draw in these conditions but if it got colder, he needed to wear gloves. The picture ‘Christmas Day at Rothera’ was drawn on paper while Hughes sat on the ice. He didn’t put paint on it until later when he went inside, a common technique with Hughes. Although there are colours in Antarctica, most of the continent is white. ‘The technical difficulty involved in painting there,’ explained Hughes, ‘was working in white. When I used even a little blue and green, I had to work very carefully.’
I asked Hughes why he went to Antarctica. ‘Today, people are controlled by things like mobile phones and email. I had to get away from this. You only become aware of the absence, say, of planes overhead, when there aren’t any. When it’s only you and the natural world, you completely understand its power.’

A I Wonder Why
The wonders of science come alive for children in this delightful book. As well as enjoying the lovely pictures, they will also learn about how plants grow, see how different birds care for their young and discover some interesting information about insects.
B Basic Technology
A love of knowledge begins early with this colourful reference book. Find out interesting facts and learn about important inventions in the last century. If you know a child who asks questions like ‘What make a car go?’, then this is the book for you.
C Painting History
This is a beautiful book showing famous paintings through history. Each painting is described in detail, including simple facts about the people shown in them and their lives. Children are invited to look more closely at the pictures and to try some of techniques themselves.
D The Hunter
In this exciting story, wonderfully illustrated by a famous wildlife artist, Jamina finds a baby elephant whose mother was killed by hunters. Looking for help, she travels back through the African bush and is able to enjoy the nature all around her. Her journey teaches her the importance of doing all we can to save and protect our world.
E Forest tales
This book is a collection of seven well-known animal stories from different cultures around the world. They are particularly suitable for reading aloud and would make good bedtime stories. Each story is about six pages long with bright and colourful pictures on every page.
F Journey to the Past
Lying ill in bed, Lucien knows he is not like other boys. In this imaginative story he finds out just how different he is. He discovers that he has the power to transport his mind through space and time. This amazing novel will appeal to those who read to escape from the real world.
G Time Travellers
This very interesting set of stories shows what life was really like for people at certain points in history – the building of the Eiffel Tower, the sinking of the Titanic, the first moon landing. Written as diaries, these stories are historically accurate.
H Joanna’s Search
Joanna was brought up by her aunt and uncle and has never known her parents. At 14, she decides to try and find the answers to the questions that she has always asked herself – ‘Who am I?’, ‘Where do I come from?’ The novel tells the moving yet funny story of Joanna’s search for her identity.