World with our boys but send them to school

we saw a Roman amphitheatre they said it was boring.

“But later, they will talk about what they’ve seen so we know it made an impression. One morning, they woke up and asked to go back to Egypt. Why read about history and cultures in a book when you can experience them first-hand?”

There have been mishaps. In Colombia a huge coconut fell from a tree hitting Henry on the head. Caroline said: “If it had fallen a few centimetres either way, he would have been dead. That left us in a bit of shock.”

But Paul insisted: “There are risks everywhere. The roads in England are terrible.”

Typically, the whole family shares one cramped hotel room and sometimes the kids rebel. Last year Henry smashed a £600 laptop in a fit of rage and laughed when he realised it had broken.

But the couple never raise their voices to the boys because they aim to be “peaceful parents”.

Instead, Paul cancelled a train ride he’d booked and tried to explain they’d used the money saved to help replace the laptop. He said: “We explain things without shouting. They’re young but they understand.”

Caroline added: “Raising our voices could affect them in the future. We don’t want to cause them any stress. I still breastfeed Henry occasionally. It’s how I calm him down if he hurts himself. I breastfed Winston until he was four, too.” They insist their

parenting style means both boys are advanced for their ages. Caroline does most of the schooling. “We do projects based on countries we visit,” she said.

Paul added: “Winston is so advanced when it comes to computers he can teach me things. Henry says he wants to learn to read when he is five.”

Paul admits his own experience of conventional education may have coloured his views. He attended a £4,700-a-term school in Huntingdon, Cambs, but had to leave when his parents could no longer afford it.

Paul said: “They told me I had to go a state school but they all seemed rubbish. That’s when I realised I had a massive problem with state schooling. It’s paid for by theft – all tax is theft.”

The couple are spending the summer in Prague but hope to go to Iceland and Australia soon.

And they have no doubts about “global unschooling”.

“Lots of people have told us they’d love to give their children the experiences ours have had,” said Paul. “But we’ve bitten the bullet and actually done it.”

Why read about history and culture in books when you can experience them first-hand? CAROLINE AND PAUL KING ON EDUCATING THEIR SONS