A mum who took her son out of mainstream education has written a book about her family's experience of home-schooling.

Susan Walklate has written Radical Home Education about the journey of five families in and around Swindon who decided to educate their children at home.

The 61-year-old said:“Earlier this year there was a programme on Channel 4 about children who were educated at home, and it just put home education in such a bad light."

“They were not telling anybody about the successes, and I wanted to tell the where are they now stories of the children involved,” she said.

Susan’s son Simon Thorley Davies was almost 10 years old when she took him out of school. Having struggled to read and write as quickly as his peers, he was on the special needs register but Susan says the school did not give Simon extra support.

“The teacher was just shouting and bullying him because he couldn’t do what they thought he should,” said Susan.

“Simon came to me one day and said ‘mummy I don’t want to go to school anymore’ and basically he didn’t.”

Susan joined other home-schooling families in Swindon who would meet regularly to do activities with the children, including crafts, music, horse care and sports.

Susan, of Gable End Farm, Grittenham, said: “There were no teachers, nobody was in charge. We did child-centred, autonomous learning. If Simon was interested in something we pursued it and if not then we didn’t.”

The group organised educational trips, including to see the Roman Villa discovered in Groundwell Ridge, north Swindon.

“I facilitated his learning,” said Susan. “I didn’t teach him. So it was different from someone sitting in front of a class tell him what to do. We just lived and learning was a part of life,” she said.

At 16, Simon went to New College where he got qualifications including a Btec in software development and web design. He now owns his own gardening business after being inspired by spending many hours gardening with his grandfather.

“My aim was also to produce a happy, well-rounded, functioning adult,” said Susan.

“And you have to hold your breath because you don’t know at first if you are going to get this. But Simon is now such a happy, well-rounded member of society.”

Radical Home Education launches tonight at Cricklade House Hotel at 7pm.