The Oscar winner has sent her 17-year-old twins, son Xavier and daughter Honor, with her former partner, artist John Byrne, to a special private school in Scotland which she helped set up.

She has now revealed the teenagers have gone through their school lives without facing any exams and instead learn through arts and practical lessons, such as canoe-building.

Swinton tells Britain's Observer newspaper, "There’s no grading, no testing at all. My children are now 17, and they will go through this school without any tests at any time, so it’s incredibly art-based, practical learning. For example, they learn their science by building a Canadian canoe, or making a knife, or caramelising onions. And they’re all happy 17-year-olds."