Faversham family pull kids out of school to teach them as they travel the world

Intrepid parents have withdrawn their children from school to travel the world and give them an education beyond the classroom.

James and Liberty Carew, from Faversham, have ditched the “stressful” and “rushed” daily grind for real-world experiences across the globe.

They felt traditional education was limiting their boys’ progress - and the cost-of-living crisis and housing market were piling on pressure.

Speaking from their accommodation in Malaysia on Thursday, during the 30°C heat, James told how they decided on a new path.

“When we were in the UK, it just felt like we were living to work.

“I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but it definitely got to that stage - now it just feels like we’re living,” the former marketing-boss said.

The idea emerged during Liberty’s maternity leave with baby Alexander, now one, when they both questioned whether they wanted their old lives back.

Their two eldest sons Noah, 10 and Johannes, seven, had been pupils at the same primary school where Liberty was a teacher.

But they began to question whether the UK curriculum offered the learning environment their boys deserved.

“We thought actually showing the children the world was the best way to move forward.

“We felt like they weren’t getting that experience from school,” Liberty, 33, added.

Both grew up in Kent before meeting as adults on a dating site four years ago.

So far, the family has already travelled to Kenya, Mauritius and Malaysia, with plans to continue through Thailand and the rest of South East Asia in the coming months.

And the journey will not end there, with the couple hoping to reach South America later in their travels.

Behind the smiles and photographs, they say the decision came with a heavy dose of anxiety.

“There was a lot of fear, especially giving up a career and leaving our families, taking the children out of school,” Liberty said.

James added: “A lot of our close family is in Kent, so taking the children away from them for at least a couple of years was a really tough decision.”

But they say the transition, with James, who works in e-commerce, now freelancing, has been far smoother than they ever imagined.

“They [the children] have done so much better than we both thought they would,” he said.

“They have met so many other children already, and they’ve made really good friendships - we’ve both seen them gain confidence.”

Instead of learning predominantly from books, Liberty has used her teaching background to create hands-on activities shaped by each country they visit.

She strongly feels children should not need exams or written evidence to prove they understand something.

“You don’t have to know something just by doing a test or by writing it,” she added.

“Sometimes the children will learn something and we’ll ask them to explain it to us - we know they know it because they verbally told us.”

While in Malaysia, the boys made their own leaflets about their trip, and then used their iPads to recreate them online.

The mother-of-three hopes sharing her experience will show other families that education doesn’t have to take just one form.

“I really feel it’s important for other people to know that you do have another choice. You don’t have to just send your children to mainstream school and maintain that.”

The family left for Kenya in early September, setting off as the English summer came to an end.

They have been documenting their travels on Instagram under name @4backpacks1baby, and have been working on ways to make their new lifestyle sustainable.

While James continues freelancing, the couple have also started building a world-schooling platform called “unschoolly”.

“It’s something that’s come up numerous times, parents find it difficult to deliver education to their children,” James explained.

“We’ve created a platform that helps world schooling parents and homeschooling parents basically generate lesson plans.”