5 must-see movies where home-schooling got a neat twist

Home-schooling is a buzz word at the moment, with kids being forced away from the classroom, and Joe Wicks emerging as the nation's saviour with his virtual P.E. lessons.

But have you ever wondered about those movies that depicted the highs and lows of home-schooling? We've rounded up five that are well worth watching.

1. Mean Girls (2004)

Was this really a home-schooling movie? Well, cast your mind back to this deliciously acerbic, Tina Fey-scripted high school comedy. You'll recall there's one hilariously spiky gag aimed at home-schooled kids.

It's delivered by Lindsay Lohan's 16-year-old hero Cady – and unprintable here. Check out the clip below to see the rare Mean Girls insult that's not delivered by Rachel McAdams's catty 'Plastics' leader Regina.

2. Kick-Ass (2010)

Chloe Moretz shot to stardom with her performance as pint-sized, lethal superhero Hit Girl in Kick-Ass. Adapted from Mark Millar's graphic novel, it's a savagely funny, and savagely violent, commentary on comic book tropes, all wrapped up in a gleefully entertaining adventure.

Hit-Girl, otherwise known as Mindy Macready, is home-schooled by her dad Damon, who goes by the superhero alias Big Daddy. But forget Algebra and English – these lessons involve butterfly knives and learning how to take a bullet to the chest.

3. Hanna (2011)

What is it with assassins and home-schooling in movies? Director Joe Wright introduces us to the utterly lethal Hanna, played with steely-eyed determination by Saoirse Ronan.

In the wilds of Northern Europe, she's trained by her dad (Eric Bana) in survival skills and weaponry, to fend off the deadly enemies that he knows are coming. Well, it surely beats Pythagoras Theorem, right?

4. Captain Fantastic (2016)

Viggo Mortensen is a most unorthodox parent in this acclaimed drama. His character Ben Cash has taken his six children off-grid to live in the wilds of America, away from consumerist trappings. This means they haven't adjusted to academic learning, instead learning to be self-reliant while being at one with nature.

This presents an issue when Ben and his kids (the oldest of whom, Bo, is played by 1917's George MacKay) are forced to reintegrate into society. The memorably tense scene between Ben and his estranged father-in-law Jack (Frank Langella) throws into question the very essence of our central character's philosophy.

5. Leave No Trace (2018)

Director Debra Granik's wrenching drama is one of the most poetic depictions of an adult-child bond in recent years. The Winter's Bone helmer adapts Peter Rock's book My Abandonment, and is impressively even-handed in exploring one father's unconventional raising of his daughter.

Said father is Will (Ben Foster), a PTSD-afflicted war veteran who is raising his child Tom (Thomas McKenzie) in a public park in Oregon. Whereas a cliched movie would potentially depict Tom as maladjusted, she is in fact blooming into a balanced, intelligent and compassionate young adult, but nagging doubts remain about Will's methods.

These methods are cast into sharp relief when a hiker stumbles upon the pair, reluctantly forcing them to yield to the demands of modern society. The devastating trajectory of the drama admirably finds warmth and truth in both Will and Tom's outlook on life, one a father seeking the best for his child, the other a blossoming youngster with the whole world at her feet. Just be sure to have some tissues handy – you will need them.