Sophie, West Yorkshire

In primary school things weren't so bad although I was always playing catch up being an April baby I was one if youngest in the class. I had dyslexia to which my first year one teacher claimed I wasn't and that I was just stupid. Luckily in year two a teacher who was trained to assess children with learning difficulties spotted it straight away but the fact of being called stupid for my first proper year was damaging and set me up to fail for a long time.

Sats were always a fear, I'd have sleepless nights, wishing I wasn't such a disappointment to everyone.

I went to high school and I couldn't cope with how big it was, the snickering of older kids at my teeth that had braces, gum thrown in my hair and glue thrown in my hair. Being tripped up in the hallway and maligned at by a crowd.

I hated school and I hated myself. I wanted to not be around anymore. I started to self harm badly which today at the age of 33 are still very visible.

My parents decided after I'd had a mental breakdown to take me out. They refused every offer to try fix things because they knew nothing could be fixed to help me in the school. I needed to feel safe and have one to one learning.

I loved being home Ed, I followed my passions and I went to collage with no ELSE'S but on the merit of my work being shown to the head of the department of the course I wanted to go on and was accepted. The rest is history!! Home Ed saved my life, without my parents having their legal rights and privacy to home educate me, I simply would not be here.

It went amazing, I flourished, I came out of my shell and was confident and wanted to live.

None. The school system is broken. There needs to be an acceptance that school works for some but not many.