By this time, he was hooked on coding and, with some tech-savvy school friends, had been given access to a local firm's one computer in return for reporting any problems. Obsessed with learning to program in those nascent days of the tech revolution, he would sneak out at night through his bedroom window without his parents knowing to get more computer time.

Its list of alumni includes former prime ministers David Cameron, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Edward Heath and Harold Wilson, as well as other British and global political heavyweights such as Tony Benn, Bill Clinton and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Nigel Macaulay

@nigelmacaulay