Georgina Bastick, 17, was removed from her mainstream school two years ago because it would not allow her sufficient time to concentrate on tennis training.
She now competes in junior and adult championships, while studying for two A levels at a school that her mother, Nicola, set up. Mrs Bastick educated her daughter at home for two years. She achieved six GCSEs but both found home tutoring an unsatisfactory experience.
With a former professional tennis player, Helen Crook, Mrs Bastick established a private school in East London to cater for Georgina and a number of other young tennis players.
The Freedom School employs five part-time teachers and has seven pupils. They fit their studies around championships and training.
Georgina spends seven hours a week at the school and does additional work from home or on the road. The pupils use the internet to stay in touch with their teachers when abroad.
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The maximum class size is four and, from September, the school will take pupils aged 14 and 15 and start teaching GCSEs. It is prepared to take children who specialise in the performing arts, as well as sports.
Georgina left her mainstream school after she turned 15, because it wanted her to study 11 GCSEs.
Mrs Bastick said: “No one has ever contacted me about taking her out of school. No one asked where I’d put her. You would think someone would check.
“I could have stopped teaching her altogether, and no one would know. I did think I would be contacted by the local authority. I don’t believe any of the other parents have been either.”
Georgina spent a year at home using an open learning programme, but her parents ended up paying for private tutors as well.
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Mrs Bastick said: “It was very difficult for her to discipline herself to do the work, coming from a school structure. She had online tutors who weren’t very efficient and didn’t chase her up.
“In lessons like English, she couldn’t have a discussion with others about what a poem meant. Now she follows a curriculum, sits in a classroom and receives reports, but doesn’t have normal school hours. It’s structured and has a competitive element.”