How three young golfers are teeing up success in school and sport

Thankfully, striking a balance between school and sport isn’t impossible, even though it can sometimes feel that way. Jack, Caleb, and Sebastian are three incredibly talented golf players who have found a way forward with flexible online learning at King’s InterHigh.

We spoke to the budding golfers and their families to find out more about the difficulties of pursuing a golf career as a teenager and how much things change when education fits around your life.

Jack’s journey

Jack was eight years old when he asked for a golf club for Christmas. His family bought him a cheap one, took him to a driving range, and watched him fall in love with the sport on the spot.

From there, his passion grew quickly, and he rose through the ranks to professional coaching and county competitions. Today, he has an impressive level of skill that has seen him become a regular in the Under 16s county team, and he’s regularly called up to play with the Under 18s. For years, however, they found themselves battling against the natural force of the seasons to build Jack’s abilities.

The challenges Jack faced

Golf is a high-skill sport, and building that skill takes time. Of course, during the winter months, daylight is scarce. In fact, from Monday to Friday, Jack had almost no time to train. School finished too late, so by the time he got home, it was already too dark to practice.

For “five months” of each year, dad Peter says, his training schedule was effectively limited to weekends only, squeezing golf in alongside rest, family time, and more. Even during the summer, Jack’s school timetable took up the best hours for practice. For someone building towards a career at the top, it was a lot of time to lose.

How King’s InterHigh changed everything

When Jack joined King’s InterHigh, the shift was immediate. For young athletes, one of the best things about learning online with us is flexibility. Timetables can be adjusted, teachers are always understanding when students need to balance their sport with homework, and every live lesson is recorded for 24/7 viewing.

That means Jack, who’s now in Year 10, can train every day without sacrificing his education. During the day, he moves freely between lessons and the golf course. When he can, he joins classes live to get all the benefits of interacting with his classmates and teachers. When he needs to prioritise golf, he can simply catch up with his recorded lessons later. He’s even been able to shape his timetable to keep one day almost entirely clear of lessons, giving him the hours he needs to play a full round.

Often, he finishes his outstanding lessons and homework before the next day even rolls around. Naturally, managing a new way of studying took some getting used to, particularly when Jack first had lots of lessons to catch up on. “But the way I see it, once I’ve done this,” he explains, talking about his motivation, “I can do that. I really enjoy playing golf, so I reward myself by looking forward to it.” The flexibility to tailor his days the way he likes has been Jack’s key to balancing daily training, multiple competitions, and keeping up with his IGCSE studies alongside a BTEC in Sport.

Jack’s growing golf career

With a career history that would impress even a professional golfer, Jack competes across three clubs and takes on more than 100 competitions in a typical year (spanning everything from club fixtures to the prestigious Faldo Series). Interestingly, the family explains, golf at this level can be far more team-oriented than it appears from the outside. Alongside individual events, Jack also competes as part of squads of six or eight against rival clubs.

Through his county set-up, he also gets the chance to play regularly with an older player who has already followed the same path he has his sights set on: county golf, a US scholarship, then professional play. Peter has already spoken with some of the leading UK scholarship agents, and the US pathway values golfing talent and academic results. That means the next few years will matter a great deal on both the learning and sporting fronts, but Jack has everything in hand.

A parent’s perspective

For Peter, there’s also another, less obvious benefit of King’s InterHigh: what the freedom to balance golf and education has taught Jack about managing his own time. Tracking a schedule and knowing what work needs to be done (and when) are skills, Peter points out, that “you don’t get in mainstream school.”

Naturally, he says, children need to be motivated to manage a full athletic schedule alongside education. But all in all, they’ve been so impressed with the benefits that Peter has even recommended King’s InterHigh to other families in the county.

Caleb’s journey

Caleb’s path to a bright career in golf began in an unusual way: with a setback. He originally played football in his younger years, but around the age of 10, Caleb found that the sport was becoming increasingly painful (and less enjoyable) due to a condition in his feet.

That’s when his dad suggested golf as a gentler alternative, and Caleb took to it immediately. And despite being just 11 years old when he began playing golf seriously, his success on the course is already matching that of his peers who’ve been playing since they were toddlers. But even with innate skill, every golfer needs time to practice and commit to the sport they love.

The challenges Caleb faced

“A lot of my friends are still in state school or private school,” says Caleb, “and they just can’t afford to miss two days for a golf competition.” It’s the same problem that plagues the majority of young athletes at mainstream schools, no matter what sport they play. Taking time off school to train and compete can mean weeks of catch-up, making it almost impossible to focus on both education and sports without compromise. For a young golfer competing seriously, restrictions like these can put a hard ceiling on what’s possible.

On top of the rigid timetable, Caleb felt like his learning was constantly being dragged down by wasted lesson time. From behavioural concerns to movement between classes, distractions are an unavoidable reality in the physical classroom. Even a well-taught lesson rarely runs without any interruption, so it’s no surprise that Caleb didn’t feel like he was using his time to its fullest.

How King’s InterHigh changed everything

Then, shortly after starting Year 9, a house move gave Caleb’s family the opportunity to rethink his schooling. A few of his friends had already joined us at King’s InterHigh, and between their high praise and our flexible timetables, Caleb’s parents were sold. Now, Caleb is studying Year 10 with us as a Library Learner, and online education is the perfect fit.

During competition days and midweek fixtures, he can spend all the time he needs out on the course. Then, he can catch up with any lessons or homework he’s missed when he’s back home in the evening, or in the mornings before the day starts. Better still, Caleb estimates that a focused 40-minute class at King’s InterHigh packs in as much value as two lessons in a traditional school, all because there are no disruptions that get in the way.

To keep himself organised, Caleb had the smart idea of printing out a loose timetable of everything he has going on in a week. It helps him identify how to divide his time to keep up with golf and learning without falling behind, but the real motivation comes from the flexibility of King’s InterHigh itself. “Let’s be honest,” he says, “who doesn’t want to be motivated to finish their learning quicker so they can get outside and do what they want to do?”

Caleb’s growing golf career

Even among talented junior golfers, what makes Caleb’s story truly unique is how recently it all started. “Three or four years ago I was just this little guy who’d never picked up a golf club,” he reflects, “and now it’s kind of grown.” By 2023, his club captain spotted his skills and invited him to progress from a pitch-and-putt to the club’s main course. By 2024, Caleb had a proper handicap and was competing across men’s competitions and junior opens.

Since then, he’s won more than five junior opens and placed in many more, represented his county in three junior age groups, achieved his home club’s Order of Merit, been part of a county team that reached the national final, and more. His biggest individual win so far was at a county championship, but his trophy display is constantly in need of extra shelves.

Once Caleb graduates from school, he’s got his sights set on a collegiate golf scholarship in the US, and his talent is sure to get him there. Until then, he plans to stay with us at King’s InterHigh through his IGCSEs and A-Levels. Golf has become Caleb’s true passion, so a ‘plan B’ hasn’t yet crossed his mind. But thanks to the school-life balance he gets at King’s InterHigh, his impressive academics will be able to take him in any direction.

Sebastian’s journey

Sebastian was only six years old the first time his dad, Paul, took him to the golf range, but it was clear from day one that he had a natural-born talent. As soon as he started hitting shots, they all went straight. Not long later, Sebastian got his own clubs, and before he knew it, golf had become his thing.

At just six years old, Sebastian started receiving professional training from a coach who’s been with him ever since. To keep up with his education alongside his dreams, his parents initially opted for traditional private school, but it became increasingly clear that Sebastian needed a better pathway.

The challenges Sebastian faced

According to Paul, Sebastian’s private school failed to deliver on both counts that mattered most to them. Academically, the standard fell short of their expectations, and practically, the school simply didn’t recognise that Sebastian’s golfing career was something worth working around.

Success in golf requires consistent hours on the course, explains Paul. But with British weather and a rigid school day working against them, finding meaningful time to train was becoming “very difficult, and almost impossible.”

How King’s InterHigh changed everything

Thankfully, a recommendation from someone at Sebastian’s golf club led the family to King’s InterHigh. At first, like many parents, Paul was sceptical about online learning. But after researching our community and all the benefits a more flexible, personalised education can bring, they decided to make the move.

Since then, says Paul, “his education has gone up, without a doubt.” Plus, on top of the higher standard of teaching and learning, Sebastian now has the ultimate freedom to focus on his passion for golf.

These days, his average week looks completely different from his previous timetable. With a golf simulator in his garden, Sebastian is able to step outside between each lesson to practise his shots, then come back inside in time for his next class. When he has longer breaks, he can take the time to head to the gym for resistance or cardio training.

Plus, the flexibility has even given Sebastian’s family more time together. Paul plays golf with his son regularly, and jokes that losing to him is now the norm! Earlier this year, meanwhile, Sebastian was able to work on a project with his older brother for Film Studies.

Best of all, Sebastian always has the opportunity to catch up on school with lesson recordings. Wednesdays and Thursdays are Sebastian’s busiest golfing days (when he plays full, eighteen-hole rounds with a close friend who’s also joined King’s InterHigh), but there’s always time to watch missed classes throughout the week.

Sebastian’s growing golf career

Sebastian’s dedication to improving his skills is one of the biggest reasons he’s been so successful in his sport, but there’s one more thing that sets him apart: psychology.

From a young age, says Paul, Sebastian’s coach has been teaching him how to handle the unique mental demands of golf, which can stretch to hours and hours alone on the green. “Your insecurities are so vulnerable on the golf course,” says Paul, who adds that a single bad shot can spiral if you don’t manage your mind. “It’s almost a game of misses. No one hits perfect shots every single time, so you have to manage your expectations.”

That would be difficult for any adult golfer, but young Sebastian has it under control. He never loses his composure, smashes a club, or lets frustration take over. One short course, Paul recalls, was completely unsuited to Sebastian, who’s one of the longest hitters in the country for his age. But even when Sebastian was down, with over a hundred parents and spectators watching, he was able to bring the game back. “I couldn’t have done it at that age,” Paul says with admiration, “I would have been a nervous wreck.”

A parent’s perspective

Right now, county golf is Sebastian’s focus, and he plans to work his way up through England Golf towards professional competitions. With his ethic on the course, there’s no doubt he’ll succeed.

Of course, Paul is direct with other parents: you need to be realistic about all pathways, and make sure education comes first even when golf is going well. “There’s a chance you’re not going to make it,” he explains, “so you’ve got to make sure you’ve got a career as well.”