‘No regrets’: We took our youngsters out of college to go travelling

A couple have revealed that they de-registered their children from school in the UK so they could go on a family ‘gap year’, splashing out £27,000 to travel the world.

Ian and Claire Fisher from Barry, Wales, decided that travel was ‘one of the best learning experiences you can have as an adult or a child’ and so they took their children – Kallan, aged six, and Maddison, aged four – out of primary school so they could all go globetrotting.

The couple revealed that de-registering their children from school ‘was a worry initially’, but that it didn’t stop them.

Claire told MailOnline: ‘Back when we did our first gap year, we were informed that if the children are out of school for longer than three months, we would need to de-register them.

‘It was really simple to do if I remember, it was a simple letter back then.

‘[It’s] worth considering that if you de-register your child and try re-enrolling them after a period of time, you may not be able to secure a place in their old school and class.’

Ian and Claire along with Kallan and Maddison, now 12 and ten, took the plunge and spent the next nine months touring South East Asia visiting Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Bali and the Philippines before heading to Australia and New Zealand.

Their desire to travel came after a period of loss, when Ian’s grandmother passed away, as well as a family friend. 

Claire noted: ‘It all reminded us that life is short. We don’t know what’s around the corner and we thought about what we wanted out of life, our hopes and dreams. 

‘We didn’t want to wait to retire to do all the things we wanted to do.

‘We were tired of having no time together as a family, working hard and stupid long hours with no money or time left at the end of the month to live the life we truly wanted. 

‘We wanted to experience the world together, make memories.’

Ian, 35, and Claire, 38, spotted another family on television who had sold everything to travel the world together and decided ‘if they can do it, then so can we’.

The pair planned to ‘make it as creators/influencers’ while on the road, but also saved up £27,000 ‘by working extra jobs, going for promotions, selling belongings and moving in with family’.

Ian works as a director of marketing and communications while Claire was a business coach who took on part-time work to save. 

She said: ‘Cleaning toilets was probably my least fave, but it helped get us to our goal.’ 

They also purchased cameras, a tripod and a laptop to make content for their Instagram page, @traveltheworldfamily.

Ian took a sabbatical from work and the family packed up their lives, booked their flights and planned their route for what Claire calls the ‘most incredible, life-changing year of our lives’.

Taking the children out of school was a big decision for the parents – but they claim it wasn’t much of an issue in the end. 

Claire noted: ‘During our gap year, we purchased some home learning books in maths, English and science for the kids to do when we got some down time, but along with daily reading before bed, we didn’t do any other sit-down learning with books. 

‘They learn so much from the travelling and experiences, there is no need. 

‘They have tested above their age in most areas of learning, with some exceptional results and have been described by their teachers as extremely resilient for their ability to settle back into class after missing time.’

She added: ‘The first gap year we did changed our lives in more ways than we could have ever anticipated. 

‘It broadened all of our horizons, opened the door to other opportunities, gave us the most unforgettable year of memories together. 

‘We saw so much of the world and came home tired, but also rested from work, which catapulted Ian’s career to new heights. We learned so many things and we just know that another gap year will be just as incredible.’

The family have been on lots of trips in the meantime, ticking off destinations that include New York, Las Vegas, Malta, Santa’s Lapland in Finland and Iceland. They also spent ‘a month on safari’ and travelled South Africa, which Claire names as ‘the best trip to date’.

The Fishers have decided that they will soon be ready for a long-awaited second family gap year – this time with their two elder children and youngest child, Abel, three, who had not yet been born during their last adventure.

Claire told MailOnline Travel: ‘We did our last one in 2018, but since then we’ve still found ways of travelling for extended periods, like during paternity and maternity where we flew to Mexico and travelled the country before doing a road trip in the U.S. 

‘Our next gap year is planned for 2026 and we plan to travel a lot of South America and the Pacific Islands, which is top of our bucket list!’

Until now, the family have taken up to three months off at a time, but as they are planning to jet off for a longer period they will be pulling their children out of school again for the 2026 trip. 

The family have said in a video clip that their travel plans ‘stick it to the government’, which they say imposes an ‘outdated system’ on parents that fines them for term-time travel with their children and makes holidays ‘unaffordable’.

Claire explained: ‘We believe the system is outdated and not flexible enough.

‘Life is so short, parents are overworked and the current system makes travel unaffordable and uncomfortable not just for families and school teachers but for the locals of the places that everyone piles to all at once.

‘Our travel plans are based around the work we do, which they have to allow, but it doesn’t stop us from getting frustrated for all the families that aren’t able to travel because they aren’t working.

‘It’s cheaper for hard-working families desperate for quality time together and experiences outside of their normal routine to pay fines to travel during term time than it is for them to book travel during school holidays.’

She continued: ‘We as parents value school and our children love it, so we would love for them to be able to do both, but we grow increasingly frustrated with the outdated and restrictive UK school system that now imposes fines on families who want to travel during term time. 

‘It is likely that we will eventually either move country or enroll our children in an online curriculum if this ever becomes a problem for us.

‘Kallan, our eldest, is currently in year seven, so we have a while before he starts preparing for GCSE learning and this is why we are going to do another gap year before he starts.’

She added: ‘Travel has become a big part of who our children are and has given them so much more than they could ever get from a classroom.

‘Our children miss a lot of school, but are also top of their class, so we prove that lower attendance doesn’t have to equal lower grades, which ultimately isn’t everything.’ 

Despite being confident in her and her husband’s decision to take their children on the road, the mum does admit that they have been judged before. 

She noted: ‘For longer periods of travel, we did get some negative comments, but on our Instagram we get nothing but support, curiosity and admiration. 

‘The truth is, a lot of people would love to travel and spend more time with their families but are restricted for time and money, so we love sharing our life as we know it teaches and inspires other families.’     

Claire added: ‘Our next gap year, won’t be our first and it definitely won’t be our last.’