By Bethan Finighan,Ed Chatterton

Copyright manchestereveningnews

A couple are set to save £18,000 a year by ditching the UK for Asia to ‘world school’ their children, who they claim are “too young to sit behind a desk”. James Humphries-Stone, 38, and Hayley Griffiths, 42, have swapped their lives in Derbyshire for Southeast Asia, travelling with their children Margot, three, and Stanley, five, who should have been starting his first year at school this month. Instead, the family have sold most of their belongings – including their car – and rented out their home so they can travel and explore the world. The couple believe the “outdated” educational system isn’t right for their kids who they say are “too young to be sat behind a desk all day.” Since their trip works out as £1,500 a month cheaper than living in the UK, the couple are even set to make a profit when they return. The family landed in Bangkok on September 15 and will move to Chiang Mai next week, before travelling to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, back to Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia – which is expected to take around 12 months. They are also planning to extend the trip into Australia and New Zealand. James said they came up with their travel plans after finding both children didn’t enjoy their time in a nursery setting. James, who runs his own estate agents brokering business, said: “Both our children had been to nursery before but hated it, they were not happy there at all. “I’m all for teaching resilience but we couldn’t see any educational benefit from them being there. We looked at homeschooling but the UK system seems to mainly cater for those with special educational needs and our situation is different. “I flippantly suggested whether we should go travelling and then Hayley happened to see a YouTube video on world schooling and said ‘I’m in’. “We believe they are too young to start school at this age. With world schooling you teach your children through the world, through interaction and experiences. “Our interpretation of the school environment is that they will spend time behind desks and learning with textbooks. “Our belief is that we can bring them here and teach them through exploring, through play. It’s about learning through real-life experiences- they are learning counting through Thai currency at the moment for example.” He added: “I think the school system is too employee minded and doesn’t teach anything entrepreneurial. It works for some people who fit a particular mould. But young children are built to move, not to be stuck behind a desk.” The couple have set aside £36,000 for the whole trip, which will cost them around £2,500-£3,000 a month while in Asia. But they will be saving money by renting out their home while James continues to work remotely and the cost of living is cheaper than the UK. The monthly outgoings at home while living in a three-bedroomed semi-detached in Swanwick works out at around £3,500-£4,000 a month. James added: “We’re in a fortunate position – I really admire those who quit their jobs and sell their homes to do this. “But we have still sold around 60 per cent of our belongings, including our car, the rest is in storage or in our suitcase. “I own a business that is doing well, and Hayley is doing well also – and both of us only came out of school with one GCSE. “It’s a perfect example of not going through the conventional system of college and university, yet we still managed to live a life, and we’re living life on our terms. “I think the school system is designed to fit a very one-dimensional way of leading life: paying taxes, getting a mortgage, getting married, having children and conforming. “We chose Asia as we believe it is one of the safest destinations going, the people are so incredible and kind and welcoming. “It is going to be some adventure and it’s about making memories for our children while making it an educational trip. “Life is short, we only get a limited amount of time on this planet, so anyone thinking about it, I’d say just do it.” Five-year-old Stanley said: “My favourite thing so far has been seeing a monitor lizard at Lumphini Park and going on a Tuktuk ride.” Three-year-old Margot added: “I love all the cats and the pretty dresses we saw at the palace [Wat Arun].”