Why King’s InterHigh is the “only school” suited to karting champion Timo Jüngling

From casual fun to championship trophies

While Timo is a natural on the tracks, his journey began as a fun hobby. “It was not serious at all,” he explains, recalling his time with rental karting at the age of five. “But I found it very fun.” As Michael watched his son’s passion grow, he became his biggest supporter, even buying Timo his very first kart to practise on in their yard. From then on, Timo’s natural talent quickly began lifting him to success.

By 12 years old, he’d already been crowned the British Championship winner in the Cadets category, climbing to the Junior ranks of the European Championships in the following years. In 2023, Timo went on to achieve what he considers his career highlight: winning the Junior World Championship in Bahrain.

Now competing in championships with the Formula One-governing FIA and working towards his Super Licence to one day become an F1 racer, Timo’s hard work is truly paying off. Of course, as a Year 11 student, he also knows how important it is to work hard on his education — something which was difficult when he was still in a traditional school.

Finding a way with online school

Michael remembers the challenges of traditional schooling well. In particular, the biggest hurdle was scheduling; between regular training, important competitions, and overseas travel, Timo needed to fit large amounts of time on the track into each school week. “His previous school did provide some flexibility by allowing the occasional day off,” he explains, “but anything more than that was not possible.”

It’s an all-too-common problem for children and teenagers competing in their sports at an elite level: the higher they rise, the more time they need to spend away from school. Timo remembers having to miss five to six days of learning in a typical month, which would be hard for any student to contend with. “Then I moved up to competitions in Europe,” he says, “and that’s when I found it quite hard to catch up on school and keep up with my education.”

That’s when Timo and his dad found the gamechanger they needed here at King’s InterHigh. Our online learning is designed with flexibility in mind, and numerous young people join us each year to balance their career ambitions with their learning. At King’s InterHigh, when Timo isn’t racing, he can join his daily lessons just as he would in an in-person school environment. Our teachers deliver classes live and interactive, creating the perfect environment for Timo to build his knowledge, discuss his ideas, and work towards his exam goals.

On top of that, he also has 24/7 access to recordings of every single lesson. While timetable clashes were one of the biggest problems Timo and his dad faced with mainstream schooling, the lack of online resources also proved to be a problem. “Even if a physical school would provide more days off,” says Michael, “they are not well equipped to allow a child to catch up on missed classes as there are no recordings.” With lesson recordings at King’s InterHigh, Timo is able to take the time out to train and compete, then still get back to any learning he’s missed afterwards.

Take Timo’s upcoming trip abroad, for example. “Next week, I won’t be able to do all my lessons during the day,” he explains. Instead, he’ll spend his days karting and use his evenings to focus on studying. At the end of each day, he works through the task list available on his Student Hub to make sure he never falls behind.

This is a crucial key to success for a racer of Timo’s age, as the European racing circuit demands extensive travel. In a traditional school setting, the two weeks he recently spent at races in Spain would have meant missing two full weeks of IGCSE education with no way to revisit what he missed. Now he’s at King’s InterHigh, he was able to spend his four-day break between racing activities focusing on working through all those lessons.

A stress-free path to learning

For both Timo and his dad, the move to King’s InterHigh has lifted a major weight. Timo’s older brother Ralf also races, explains Michael, “but is unable to get more than the occasional day off school.” In contrast, he says, “Online school gives us the flexibility to shape Timo’s education around his international training and racing programme.”

On top of adaptable timetables and lesson recordings, King’s InterHigh also brings Timo a much-needed sense of support. That help and guidance is critical during this final year of his IGCSEs, as he works towards earning the grades he’ll take with him into his future.

While it may seem a world away from racing, Timo’s favourite subject is mathematics, and he’s keen to work hard and achieve his best in his upcoming maths exams. That’s why he’s so glad that his teachers are “really nice and supportive.” Listing off what he loves about his online lessons, he explains, “There’s the Q&A in class, and there’s also a text chat. If I’m stuck on something because I missed the lesson before, I can always ask the teacher.” If he knows he’s going to be taking a chunk of time away from live lessons for a race, meanwhile, he knows he can “email the teacher for more help on any tasks I have.”

Of course, having the support of his teachers is also important for Timo’s mentality as a racer. Michael puts it succinctly: “If you want to compete at the highest level, you can’t go into a European or World Championship, thinking about your school being upset with you. You need a clear head.”

As a parent, meanwhile, Michael sees his own benefits to online learning. One of the most unexpected is how it has drawn him and Timo closer together. As is typical with mainstream education, Michael says he wasn’t particularly involved in Timo’s learning journey. Now, however, his son’s education has become a big part of their bond. “I am more engaged in what he is learning,” says Michael, “by asking him daily what he has learned, normally over dinner, and having Timo walk me through the concepts and topics.” Bringing his own understanding of motorsport to the table, he also enjoys showing Timo how his maths and science education is relevant to his racing — from the tuning of race motors to car set-up changes.

Enjoying a life in balance

One of the concerns many parents have about online learning is isolation, but that couldn’t be further from Timo’s reality. Despite the shift, his social life remains vibrant and varied.

In his online lessons at King’s InterHigh, Timo has formed connections with his fellow IGCSE students across various subjects. “I have quite a few of the same classmates in all my lessons, so I speak to them during class, and if I need help, I can ask them,” he notes.

Outside of school, meanwhile, Timo still spends time with his old school friends. Plus, with a community of karting stars here at King’s InterHigh, he can even catch up with fellow students like Kit Belofsky on the racetrack.

All in all, whether he’s working on a race, connecting with friends, or studying for his exams, Timo’s life is always in balance now that he’s at online school. For parents on the fence, Michael has some apt words: “My advice to parents is that education can be delivered in many forms, and technology is increasingly allowing children to consummate it in different and often helpful ways.”

While Timo’s not sure if he wants to go to university yet, he is already gearing up for his online A Levels next year. “Before I joined King’s InterHigh,” he recalls, “I was trying to keep doing physical school, but I just felt like I was so far behind compared to my classmates, so I wasn’t motivated anymore.” As soon as he joined us, however, things became “completely different,” eliminating the pressures he once felt.

This year, Timo is competing in all the major European and world karting championships with his sponsor team, Sodikart. His next goal? Racing cars at Formula 4 level. As this young motorsport icon continues to ace every challenge that comes his way, the name Timo Jüngling is sure to make it to the ranks of Formula One before we know it.