Fed-up dad builds £150k mini-school in his yard and teaches children to start out their very own enterprise
Property developer Samuel Leeds, 34, has built a school in his garden for his four children and eight of their cousins after becoming frustrated with the UK education system
A dad splashed out £150k constructing a school in his own back garden for his children – after becoming fed up of the “rigid” and “oppressive” UK education system. Property developer Samuel Leeds is teaching his children himself – and reckons they’re learning more useful lessons than in a mainstream school.
Samuel chose to take his children – aged eight, seven and five – out of mainstream school after becoming exasperated with the lack of financial and business education in their curriculum.
The dad-of-four invested six months creating the 600sq foot ‘mini-school’ in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire and now hires two full-time teachers to work there, while also teaching finance himself.
He teaches 12 students – three of his own children, plus Samuel’s brother and sister’s children. Samuel, who operates an enormously successful property development enterprise, claims the construction has saved the parents £66,000 compared to the £216,000 expense of shelling out for private education.
Samuel, 34, said: “The costs of private school are astronomical, and they don’t even learn anything about business there. We didn’t do this to save money, but it has actually worked out a lot cheaper.”
Samuel added: “I became frustrated with the school system, because it’s rigid and oppressive and they don’t teach you anything about business or finance. I think the whole system is flawed, because you’re either told if you’re smart you go to university, or if you’re not you do manual labour.
“But there’s also a third option, starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur. I dropped out of school at 16 thinking I was stupid, and I had no aspiration, but then I realised I had what it takes to be successful in business.”, reports the Mirror.
“Rather than moan about the education system, I chose to take action and built my own school in the garden. We employed two teachers, one for English and one for maths, and I teach financial literacy and critical thinking.
“My brother and sister’s children also attend the school, so we have a total of 12 pupils, and I’m planning on developing a curriculum for parents who homeschool. The kids absolutely love it, and ironically, it actually costs us less to hire the teachers than it would to send them all to private school.”
Samuel and his wife Amanda, 33, first conceived the idea of their garden school in late 2023 and proceeded to apply for planning permission for a classroom in their backyard. Once approved, they spent the following six months building the compact school, which comprises just one classroom.
The construction was completed in April 2024, and Samuel’s eldest three children started attending the school in January 2025. The children’s eight cousins, aged between five and 11, also go to the school, and Samuel’s youngest child, aged one, will join when they reach the appropriate age.
He intends to continue his children’s education at the school until they turn 18 and confirmed that they will still sit exams such as GCSEs.
Samuel expressed his belief that the current education system is “flawed”, stating that “people are finishing university, and they’re struggling to get even a job.”
He voiced his disagreement with stringent school rules, such as children needing permission to use the toilet and being reprimanded for errors.
“Making mistakes is how you succeed”, he said.
Samuel explained that his school diverges from conventional institutions as it encourages students to be “curious about the subject”, rather than merely cramming information for exams.
His school also offers the family the freedom to travel at their convenience. He stated: “If we want to take them out of school, we don’t have to ask. We’ve got a home in Dubai and one in Zimbabwe, so we can take the kids there and continue teaching them. They learn so much more coming to Dubai for a three-day business trip than they would in a classroom at school.”
Samuel said he receives daily messages from parents willing to relocate to Beaconsfield just to enrol their children in his innovative school.
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