Emily Price, 13, and her 15-year-old brother Ben are both pupils of InterHigh. They log on to school at 9.15 sharp every morning, each on their own laptops, and complete around two-and-a-half hours of lessons in virtual classrooms. Both pupils are equipped with a headset so they can communicate with their teachers and fellow classmates – some of whom live as far away as Australia and Africa. There is also a whiteboard, Power-Point facility and "follow me" browser, which every student can see from their screens. And, should they need to ask the teacher something, there is no reluctant hand-raising: they can simply fire off a question via the private instant-messaging service.