A tech-savvy mother from Hampshire has taken her 13-year-old daughter out of school and replaced traditional teachers with a bespoke artificial intelligence bot she built herself. Software developer Kate Bell made the decision after noticing that the conventional education system was causing the 'light to fade' in her creative daughter, Niyah.
From classroom to AI mentorship
Niyah has now left the national curriculum behind and is being mentored by an AI platform designed to equip her with entrepreneurial skills before she turns 18. Kate, a business owner, says she can program the system to teach life skills that go beyond what is typically offered in primary or secondary school. Her goal is for Niyah to become a successful business owner before reaching adulthood.
'Niyah has quite a creative mind and I could always see her going into some sort of entrepreneurship, and these aren't the type of skills taught in schools or even encouraged,' Kate told the Daily Mirror. 'Over the last six months I really started to notice the light in her fade. She's always been interested in learning but she was coming home quite flat. She was becoming timid, her confidence and creativity was going.'
Growing trend of home education
Believing the school system was too rigid, Kate decided to pull Niyah out. She is part of a growing trend: 175,900 children in England were home-educated last year, a 15% increase. Key reasons include mental health concerns, dissatisfaction with school, and philosophical or lifestyle preferences.
Rather than following standard subjects, Kate designed a curriculum 'backwards' based on the person she wants Niyah to become. The AI platform sets four daily tasks and a long-term project tailored to Niyah's interests.
'We had to decide what skills we wanted her to have, who we want her to be as a human being, and then the curriculum has been designed almost backwards from that so she can work towards those goals. It's an AI platform that adapts to her needs and meets her where she is every day – and it's constantly learning and evolving,' Kate explained.
Focus on practical skills
Kate emphasises the importance of teaching AI, technology, problem-solving, and critical thinking alongside traditional subjects like English, science, and reading. One task involves Niyah designing meals for the family, incorporating nutrition, budgeting, and cooking skills. 'This involves a lot of nutrition understanding and how food fuels the body as well as cooking it. She has been given a budget to work out what food to buy – so there's a lot to do with maths as well there,' Kate said.
The platform currently has Niyah working on a two-month project to understand and identify problems within a business. 'It sounds like a thing of the future, and it's finding ways to challenge her with things she's genuinely interested in,' Kate added.
Controversy and criticism
The idea of AI taking over education is controversial. Retired headteacher Chris McGovern, a former advisor to the government, acknowledges AI's role but has reservations. Speaking after a private school in London introduced a 'teacherless' GCSE class using AI and virtual reality, McGovern told Sky News: 'I understand why [schools] may push AI. For one thing, it's cheaper. The problem with AI and the computer screen is that it is a machine and it's inert, so you're straight away dehumanising the process of learning, taking away those interpersonal skills and the interaction between pupils and teacher. It's a soulless, bleak future if it's going to be along the AI path only.'
Despite such criticism, Kate says Niyah is 'lighting up' again and more confident than ever. 'She'll get into a project and she will still be doing it late into the evening because she's really enjoying something. I'm seeing her become more confident, she's talking to people and interacting with adults. She's also picking up books again, which she hasn't done in a really long time. I think school had just degraded her opinion towards learning,' Kate said.
Socialisation and legal considerations
Kate ensures Niyah sees friends a few times a week and encourages interaction with people of all ages. Under UK law, parents do not need formal qualifications to homeschool, and councils can only make 'informal enquiries' into a child's progress.
A typical day for Niyah starts between 7 and 8am with a beach walk with her mum and their dog, followed by work at home and day trips outside. When Niyah turns 18, she will not have a folder of certificates; instead, her AI platform will produce a personality assessment and a portfolio of six years of practical work. If she needs qualifications, Kate says she will have been taught enough to take exams.
'The platform we've built will package everything up she has learnt on her 18th birthday and will outline everything she's had in terms of her education and the work she has done. It is designed to do a very in-depth assessment of her and her personality that she can then take to an employer. Right now I hope that by the time she is 18 she's actually already running a very successful business that she started when she was 13, or she will have a portfolio of six years worth of work and a complete personality assessment,' Kate explained.
Expert concerns
Researcher and data scientist Dr Imed Bouchrika notes that socialisation is a common concern with homeschooling. 'Homeschooling is generally short in providing peer-to-peer interactions to children. It lacks in providing heterogeneous associations, promotes dependence on parents, and automatically delays a child's personality. It can also limit the diversity of beliefs and backgrounds that children may encounter in most public school settings.'
Kate acknowledges the decision was controversial and had to explain it to sceptical friends and family. 'We're two months into our homeschooling journey and Niyah loves it. If something happens and it doesn't work out, I can always just enrol her again in September, but for now it's going great,' she said.
