Even before the school day started, there was a problem: the uniform was scratchy. Once inside the building of her secondary school, the overload of noise and smells became overwhelming for Anna, who has autism. “She was anxious,” says her mother, Sophie, from south-east England.

Despite small class sizes and the support of a teaching assistant, Anna also struggled to engage with lessons at her fee-paying school. Her attendance dwindled until one day she experienced “a full breakdown”, according to her mother. “We decided enough was enough,” says Sophie, who asked to withhold their real names.

So last September, Anna started Year 9 at Minerva’s Virtual Academy, an online independent school based in the UK that has pupils from around the world and charges ￡8,410 a year. From the comfort of her home, and dressed in her own clothes, Anna began to thrive. She now has 100 per cent attendance and is doing well academically. It was a “lifeline”, says Sophie.