RESEARCH conducted in the North-East shows that children taught at home learn more than their counterparts at school.

A three-year study by Paula Rothennel, a Durham University lecturer and PHD student, has discovered that children educated by parents at home are producing better results in maths and English exams and learning quicker than their peers at school.

Her research also bucks recent trends that shows girls are out-performing boys - being taught at home seems to be a great leveller.

Mr Rothennel, who lectures in early childhood education, studied 100 families who educated their children at home and produced results that could have huge implications for education in future years.

Stephen and Julie Turnbull, one North-East couple who chose to teach their children at home, welcomed the findings and provide compelling evidence that home-taught children do go on to become high achievers.

The Turnbulls, of Cockfield, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, took their eldest son Robert, then five, out of school because he hated it so much. He took to lessons with his mother and then their other children, Lesley, now 17, and Frances, now 16, were also taught by their parents. All have achieved outstanding results.

Robert, now 19, has completed his first year of a performing arts degree at Salford University, Lesley is planning to go to Hull University, while Frances is studying at Darlington College of Technology.

Julia, a former graduate, said: "From our experience, these findings seem to make an awful lot of sense.

"I think our children did learn quicker than their peers at school because they got a lot more attention from me as the teacher.

"It's not that the education is necessarily better, it's just that they seem to pick it up a lot quicker.