For many families living abroad, especially those with children involved in sports, modelling, acting, or other demanding pursuits, balancing education with a unique lifestyle can be a challenge. A flexible online school for young athletes was required for Sarah and her 13-year-old son Cairo, a professional model and competitive surfer living on the idyllic island of Tenerife.
After years of juggling surf training, modelling gigs, and rigid school policies, the family found hope in an unexpected place: King’s InterHigh, a leading British online school offering a high-quality, fully flexible education to students worldwide.
With its live interactive lessons, expert teachers, and an internationally recognised curriculum, King’s InterHigh caters to families seeking an education that fits around their lives, not the other way around.
A Life Built Around Passion
Cairo’s passion for surfing began when he was tiny. From a young age, his connection to the sea was undeniable.”He used to pretend he was a fish. You couldn’t take your eyes off him,” Sarah recalls. “It wasn’t until he was six and we knew he could swim that we let him get on a board.”
From his first surf class, Cairo’s parents knew he had clicked with the sport, even without a surfing background. Within three weeks he went from a beginner’s softboard to a hardboard, an unusually fast progression. “Since I was a baby I’ve always wanted to surf,” Cairo says. “When I finally got on a board at six years old, it was like, OK, this is what I want to do.”
“It’s not easy. It would be an easy lifestyle if money wasn’t an issue,” Sarah affirms. “But with having to work and having a little girl in normal school, it’s not easy.” But Cairo’s surfing dreams have a window. “Even though he’s very young, if he really wants this, then we have to support it now because later is already too late.”
Why King’s InterHigh?
Sarah and her husband have always wanted their children to experience more than just classroom learning. “My husband’s from Spain, but from a major capital city, and I’m from the UK,” she explains. “We’ve both travelled pretty well and want the kids to experience the real world, as well as having the benefits of living on the island.”
For the past decade, Cairo’s parents have managed his education alongside a flourishing career in modelling and surfing. But for their family, traditional school simply wasn’t working, and the need for a school that could travel alongside them became increasingly apparent.
“For the last nearly 10 years, every single time there was any opportunity for him, it felt like a fight,” considers Sarah. “When kids have opportunities to do things, there is no system in place to help them reach their full potential for themselves personally for their future, if it doesn’t fit for everybody.”
It was clear that the local education system in Tenerife wasn’t keeping up with their lifestyle, or their son’s ambitions. “It’s all paperwork and books. Nothing can be picked up or finished from home digitally. If you weren’t there, you lose out.” The rigid, traditional approach made it difficult for Cairo to pursue both modelling and competitive surfing at a high level.“They’re still training the kids to pick up jobs around where they’ve been born and raised – as opposed to really looking at what their dreams are for the future and what they can achieve,” Sarah says. “That’s the part that really gets us most.”
Switching to King’s InterHigh was transformative. “From one day to the next, everything became easier—literally, it was unbelievable,” Sarah recalls. Cairo could finally train with top-level coaches at optimal times, join elite in-person and online sports groups, and attend high-performance camps that had previously been off-limits due to school attendance rules. “Now, he has these opportunities,” Sarah says, “and we feel like they are within reach.”
Making it Work – Balancing Elite Training with School Commitments
King’s InterHigh’s flexible approach, experienced teachers, and advanced curriculum have provided Cairo with the tools he needs to succeed both academically and personally. “Before King’s InterHigh, I was in public school. It was really hard to get to all the training, modelling jobs, and competitions because they just wouldn’t let me go away all the time,” explains Cairo. “And now it has all changed.”
Cairo’s schedule is packed, with surf competitions taking him across Spain and abroad. Add in modelling assignments, often booked with short notice, and it becomes clear that flexibility is essential.
“With surfing, you can get two days’ notice before a competition. You don’t know until the last moment if it’s happening, because of the waves,” says Sarah. Modelling is a bit easier to manage. “It’s as simple as we need Cairo. Here’s your flights, here’s your agreement. They’ll pick you up and bring you back, so he’s done that across Europe non-stop.”
Cairo competes on both the Spanish and English national circuits. “To stay on the English team, he needs to show up for certain national competitions.” Sarah explains. That means travel is non-negotiable. International training camps in Morocco, France, and soon Bali, are essential to his development too, with each location offering different types of waves to train in.
However, this makes a conventional school schedule almost impossible to maintain. King’s InterHigh, with its flexible timetable and online structure, allows Cairo to log in and study from anywhere with a stable internet connection.
Adapting to Online Learning
King’s InterHigh offers Cairo a British curriculum, which was a major shift from the local Spanish system he left behind. The transition required an adjustment, but it’s one that has paid off. King’s InterHigh has also helped him advance more quickly than he could in his previous school in the Canary Islands. “What I’m learning now is way more advanced,” Cairo says. “In my old school, they were three grades behind what I’m learning now.”
Sarah concedes that the most challenging part of the transition was learning to be proactive. “He had to be the one that reached out to ask the questions if he was unsure,” she explains. “As opposed to just having somebody continuously checking on him. That was really the learning curve for him. But I think he clicked on really quickly.”
His day-to-day schedule varies depending on his surf and modelling commitments, but Cairo remains consistent in managing his timetable and keeping up with his classes and assignments. “Learning in English is new for him, so he really needs to be focused,” Sarah says. “I’m not going to accept him falling behind in education regardless of what his opportunities are; he has to be able to do it all. Otherwise, education comes first.”
Now, Cairo treats his daily study schedule like a typical school day. When he’s not training or competing, he’s at his desk following his lessons and submitting assignments. “He knows what he wants, and he knows that in order for us to keep pushing, he has to do his bit, which is education.“
Balancing Family Life
Managing family life and careers around such a dynamic schedule is no small feat. Sarah works in hospitality consultancy and event planning, and her husband is a professional musician. Their routines are far from 9-to-5.
“The day we decided to have kids, everything we became was for them,” Sarah says candidly. “We didn’t have this kind of support growing up. Although my husband has supportive parents, he never had anyone who really looked outside the box and pushed him that way. I know where he could have gone and what he could have been doing. If those opportunities were there when we were younger, we could have been doing more.” She continues, “If we can do anything for our kids, it’s to try and give them a happier lifestyle in the future. So they have a career doing what they love and they don’t feel like it’s work.”
Staying Social in a Digital World
Although online learning can sometimes be perceived as isolating, Cairo remains socially engaged. “Surfing is a really social sport,” he says. “And I get on well with people in my classes.” He also maintains friendships from his old school and connects with other King’s InterHigh students who share his interests. There’s another surfer in his year, who Cairo has known since they were little.
This blend of online and offline friendships has worked well for him, but Sarah acknowledges that it might not suit every child. “Our little girl is still learning social skills and how to navigate social situations. She’s not ready for online school yet. If Cairo wasn’t as secure in his own character and the way he is, I would have had concerns too.”
Advice for Other Families
For parents considering an online education for their children, Sarah is passionate in her recommendation. “I’m the number one fan of King’s InterHigh. But you have to be a motivated parent and understand that your responsibility does fall on you as a parent,” she says. “I think if we don’t look and push for what is best for our children as individuals, then we’re failing as parents.”
She believes many children struggle in mainstream education not because of their abilities, but because the environment simply doesn’t suit them. “A lot of people don’t just fit into a system. The biggest thing for me is that if somebody’s really struggling, it’s likely that the problem isn’t the child, but the system. The puzzle piece just doesn’t fit.”
Looking Ahead
Cairo’s aspirations go beyond his goals of professional surfing and modelling, with a dream to become a marine biologist one day. His passion is particularly focused. “I’d love to work with orcas and dolphins,” he explains, listing Norway and Hawaii as ideal destinations.
Sarah supports his ambitions wholeheartedly. “He knows that he wants to be a professional surfer and a marine biologist, and he is totally capable of doing both. Marine biology as a future career actually complements surfing really well, with what he’s been through in his life in the ocean. But to achieve that, it’s on him and his education and his own focus.”
For Cairo, the year ahead looks as exciting as ever. He’s representing the Canary Islands in an international surf championship, eyeing future trips to France and Bali for training, and continuing to pursue modelling opportunities as well as his long-term goal of becoming a marine biologist.
Their story is a powerful reminder that education doesn’t have to follow a traditional path to be meaningful. For families like Sarah’s, King’s InterHigh is more than an online school-it’s a gateway to possibility, tailored to each student’s journey.
Looking back, Sarah is confident in their decision. “You could be giving your kid a future that maybe they wouldn’t have had beforehand. I think it’s huge. We’re forever grateful.”
Find out more about King’s InterHigh and their unique online education model on the school website, or read their recent article on the MumAbroad blog about studying for the IB Diploma online.
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