Ruth Lawrence

When Lawrence was five, her father gave up his job so that he could educate her at home.

At Oxford, her father continued to be actively involved in her education, accompanying her to all lectures and some tutorials. Lawrence completed her bachelor's degree in two years, instead of the normal three, and graduated in 1985 at the age of 13 with a starred first and special commendation.

he had tried it once before - with an older daughter, Sarah, one of three children he had by a previous marriage.

That experiment ended after he separated from Sarah's increasingly concerned mother, Jutta. He soon found a woman more in tune with his radical ideas in his next spouse, Sylvia Greybourne