ELEVEN-year-old Louisa Harper has only spent one day in school. She was seven and discovered she could only have a drawing class once a week.

Her nine-year-old brother Robert has never been to school and has no desire to be taught in a classroom by a teacher at the front.

Instead the two are what their parents call "self-learners", the one extreme of home education.

Mum Jane Harper decided that Louisa wasn't going to school when she was a babe in arms. It took a while to bring dad Chris round to the idea, but now they wouldn't have it any other way.

"We don't school them as such," said Jane.

"They're learning all the time, like they did before the age of five. It just carries on. You don't have to teach them.

"Even with reading and writing, they see a need for it and they learn it - that's part of life.

"Being home educated we can be more spontaneous, so there's no typical day."

When the Evening News visited the Harpers at their home in Storridge, near Malvern, Louisa was playing a computer game set in a hospital and Robert was practising his ju-jitsu - though he really wanted to go online.

"Louisa has had one day at school to try it. She had a lovely day but decided it was nicer at home and not something she wanted to do every day.

"I'd hate to send them to school, but occasionally it would be nice to do it on a part-time basis - just so we can have some time for ourselves.

"I was thinking about home education right from when Louisa was born. Chris didn't come round to it until she was three. We decided then that she certainly wasn't going to school at rising five.

"We've always said they can go to school if that's what they want, but so far they haven't wanted to.

"As for exams, it will depend on what they want. Louisa has always been strong on the arts and she's always said she wants to go to art college - you don't need GCSEs for that.

"If they see a need for having pieces of paper saying they've passed certain tests then they will decide for themselves."

There are two groups of home educators - there are those like the Harpers who are what is known as self-learners. Then there are those families who actively teach their children at home with a set curriculum.

The two different styles are supported by Education Otherwise, which is a support network for home educators.

Around 100 families join their ranks each month, joining the 150,000 people in the UK already educating their children at home.

Around five per cent of school age children are home-educated.

Parents need not despair that their children will not succeed in later life as Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein and Yehudi Menuhin were all educated at home.

As well as learning at home, Louisa and Robert have music lessons and join a ju-jitsu class every week. Then there are the trips out with other home educators to working farms, museums and other places of interest.

"It's not as daunting as people think," said Chris.

"People say we're brave, but time is the most valuable commodity we've got to provide for them. You take every cue from the kids.

"You think they're never going to learn. You talk to all your home educating friends and they say not to worry as it will happen. It's a process of osmosis, they do it without any hassle."

There are plenty of benefits to home education - you can take your children on holiday whenever you like for however long you like. One family took to the road for a couple of years, while another spent six weeks in Italy staying with an Italian home educating family.

There is also no stress in the morning trying to get the kids up and ready before travelling to school. There is a greater sense of family and much more besides.

The memory of her only day in school is still quite clear for Louisa, who might never enter a classroom again.

"It was okay but I don't think I'd cope with a lot of it," she said.

"We had a drawing lesson. It was the only time in the week we could draw. I like doing what I want when I want.

"I want to either work with animals, doing art or a musician, I'm not sure which one yet.

"Today I've drawn, I've played on the piano and started this game, but I've not practised my cello yet."

For more information on how to go about educating your child at home contact Education Otherwise on 0870 7300074.