When leaving school and learning at home is best for your child.

But the benefits it can have for certain children are huge.

Edward Kimberley has not been to school for more than three years now but at the age of just 13 he can boast two A* grade IGCSEs – the international equivalent of the UK GCSE – and is expected to achieve another top grade in his English Literature IGCSE, the result of which he will receive later this month.

Edward also has an adult literacy qualification and an ECDL computer qualification, which is equivalent to a GCSE. Plus he is now working towards AS levels – usually taken by 17-year-olds.

But the staggering thing about Edward is that despite his incredible intelligence, he suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome and Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism.

His mother Sheila said: “Some days Edward will just be too tired to be able to do any work, but we just treat that as normal. We have our own work pattern and it works for us. The proof is in the incredible results Edward is achieving.”

Mrs Kimberley and her husband Christopher, of Warndon Villages, Worcester, took the decision to remove Edward from school when he was 10 years old.

She said: “Right from nursery Edward never fitted in. He was never happy and would always dread going to school. At the age of 10 he was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and that, coupled with the autism, made it difficult for him to deal with the school environment and the large numbers of people.

“Then one day at the end of year five he turned and said, ‘Life is not worth living’. I knew then that we had to do something.”

Edward was being bullied at school.

He says: “I was very frightened of the bullies. Because of that I was not enjoying school and I was just not achieving what I should be.”

Mrs Kimberley carried out a lot of research into home education before finally taking the decision that it was right for Edward.

“I got in touch with the home education service and we pretty much went from there, and have never looked back,” she said.

Mrs Kimberley said Edward had now moved on to studying AS levels in history, English and economics.

“We don’t see the need for him to do all the GCSEs before the AS levels,” she said. “He is able to study at that level, so we figured we would just go for that. Instead of doing 10 GCSEs all at the age of 16 and three A-levels at 18 we are doing one or two at a time.”

Mr and Mrs Kimberley have to pay for each examination that Edward takes, which can cost up to £300.

Edward works to a weekly schedule, with German, French, piano and cello practice at the core.

He then strives to complete certain tasks in his remaining subjects over the course of the week.

“If I am told to do something now I find it very difficult,” Edward said.

“But if I know I have certain things to complete over a week I can cope with that and I feel quite satisfied with myself if I tick off those jobs with days to spare.”

Mrs Kimberley said: “What works for us may not work for everyone.

But we have found that this method works best for Edward.”

As well as being extremely academic, Edward also has a flair for music. He recently got a distinction in his grade eight singing exam and is currently working towards grade six cello, grade eight piano and grade six music theory.

“Edward has played in front of Margaret Thatcher and Julian Lloyd-Webber,” Mrs Kimberley said.

“We could have specialised Edward at an early age, in music or English or history, but we wanted him to have a broad education base.

We are taking his education very seriously because we know that Edward has the potential to really make something of himself.”

Edward would like to go to Oxford university one day and said he would love to become a writer or musician.

He said: “I really enjoy writing. I like subjects where you can form an opinion and have debates.”

WHAT’STHE LAW ON HOME SCHOOLING?

● Most parents send their child to school, but you do have the right to educate your child at home. As a parent, you must ensure your child receives a full-time education from the age of five.

● You do not need to be a qualified teacher to educate your child at home

● Your child is not obliged to follow the National Curriculum or take national tests, but as a parent you are required by law to ensure your child receives full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude

● Any special educational needs your child may have must be recognised

● You do not need special permission from a school or local authority to educate your child at home, but you do need to notify the school in writing if you're taking your child out of school

● You do not need to observe school hours, days or terms

● You do not need to have a fixed timetable, nor give formal lessons

● There are no funds directly available from central government for parents who decide to educate their children at home

● Local authorities can make informal enquiries of parents who are educating their children at home to establish that a suitable education is being provided

● If it appears to the local authority that a child is not receiving a suitable education, then it might serve a school attendance order

● For more information, visit the the Home Education Advisory Service website at heas.org.uk