When Adam Steele mentions his family’s homeschooling situation he knows questions will inevitably follow.
The 28-year-old’s workplace this morning is the Zagreb Arena, where he will represent Ireland in the European Gymnastics Championships.
In doing so he leaves behind a hectic home life in Cambridge where he and his wife Shannon are raising four children, aged from 10 to almost one, while homeschooling the two eldest.
More than 2,500 children were on the Irish register for home education last summer, an increase of around 1,000 from recent years. In England, the number is 126,000.
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So it is not exactly the done thing, hence the curiosity from others. But he admits he loves it when people ask him questions about the family’s education choice.
“We’re quite fortunate,” Steele says. “I have an absolutely fantastic wife, honestly. We juggle it, she does most of the schoolwork, she does the scheduling and she loves to see the progress they’re making.
“So it does give us a little bit more freedom and we manage it quite well. If I have competitions, we can come away – the children can come as well. They love gymnastics, although it has started to get a bit expensive.”
However, travelling as a family of six is rather different from the days when a single hotel room was enough. “It’s no longer as simple as getting a small hotel room with one bed, and it’s a little bit difficult when you’ve got a nearly one-year-old screaming in the night,” he says with a smile.
“But yeah, it’s a fun life, it’s always hectic and, look, it’s quite easy to go to the gym and then be focused there because there’s no children around. It’s just me and my job, which is also my hobby.”
The decision was made largely because Steele’s eldest daughter was not coping well in a conventional school environment. Her parents decided to give it a chance and have been hugely encouraged by the results.
“She’s thriving now, she’s so much more focused because it’s one-to-one,” he says. “She’s got a tutor online as well, and they make it more fun.”
Her school day is structured around an online tutor, with an hour-long class from 10am to 11am, Monday to Thursday. Subjects include science and art, while the family covers the remaining elements of her education themselves.
“It’s awesome, and it’s cheap,” Steele says. “You can choose what lessons you do, so you don’t have to attend everything, and we just cover all the other bases.”
As the children move towards the more demanding years of school, Steele accepts that homeschooling will bring its own challenges. “We’ll see when it comes up to more important years in school with exams, where they need to learn key points,” he says.
“And some awkward topics might not be taught very well by your parents. But we’re trying our best. It’s always going to be like swings and roundabouts. There’s always going to be good and there’s always going to be bad.”
He understands some people’s concerns, particularly around socialising, but says his children have plenty of opportunities to mix with others through gymnastics, swimming and other after-school activities.
“We live on a new estate as well, so there’s lots of kids around for them to play with,” he says.
Away from home, Steele – whose father is from Limerick – is ready to compete in his eighth European Championships in a decade. “Crazy, right?” he says. “What’s not to love? There’s so much to do, so much to learn. Always trying to look for that next high.
“Top of the priority list is to better myself than I ever have at any Europeans, which does become more difficult the older I get, but having been here before helps with the knowledge layout of everything that’s going on.”
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Steele, Eamon Montgomery and Daniel Fox will also provide experience to an Irish team increasingly populated by younger gymnasts, including James Hickey and Oisín O’Connell, while reigning Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan remains its leading figure.
“To be honest with you, I think they impart more knowledge on to me,” he says. “I’m quite old school. Even with Rhys, he’s younger than me, but he’s just filled with wisdom. So I’ll be looking to him for advice.
“But all of us have got our unique qualities that we’ll help bring to the team. Hopefully I have some wisdom that they like to take on. So collectively, it should be probably one of the best teams we’ve ever put forward.”
