I interrupt my Christmas holidays with news of Peter Williams, and of the battle that his parents are embroiled in with Hampshire LEA.

Who is Peter Williams? Well, among other things, he is a chess champion:

A seven-year-old chess champion has been pulled out of school by his parents after a row over skipping lessons to practise the game.

Peter and Carol Williams decided to teach their son Peter at home in Alton, Hampshire, after the local education authority refused to give him time off for training sessions.

Peter's school, St Lawrence Primary in Alton, had blocked a request to give him a day off every week to play chess.

Peter has dazzled experts with his talent for chess since the age of five - beating scores of older children and adults.

Most recently, the prodigy won the top prizes of £100 and £120 respectively in the Central London Adult Rapid Play and Adult Long Play championships.

He has also won several junior tournaments, including the mini squad under-nines championships last year.

Peter said on Tuesday: "I like the money and the trophies. I want to be the best."

His father added: "Peter is the best chess player of his age in the country.

"We just want him to have the very best chance.

"We wanted him to have time to study and, as children of his age learn best in the morning, we wanted to take him out of school one day a week.

"But the school and the local education authority were treating it as truancy. It's a disgrace really."

Mr Williams said he expected Peter will remain out of school until he is old enough to go to secondary school, where he hopes the timetable will be more flexible.

This report by Alice Mascarenhas, of a chess tournament in Gibraltar, includes some stuff about what sort of boy Peter Williams is:

Gerard Matto, at seven years of age, is one of the youngest local players, playing for the first time in the Amateur Tournament. He had made friends with Peter Williams who has been playing since the age of five. Now, also seven years of age, he is one of the main hopefuls in the English camp, participating in the international tournament.

Having a bit of fun, and after a game, I caught them pawn flicking. They insisted on teaching me how to play anti-chess. A challenge I could not refuse.

Peter is a great Harry Potter fan, and often believes he is a magician himself when facing a chessboard. But not surprisingly, he keeps his moves a secret and just like young Matto is not daunted by any of the adult players.

Peter smiles and tells me cheekily he plays because "you can make loads of money". But on a serious note he is a natural at the game and obviously enjoys the challenge.

"You have to concentrate."

So what else do you enjoy other than chess and reading Harry Potter? "That's easy, educational studies," came back the reply.

It certainly doesn't sound as if Peter Williams is going to degenerate into a vegetative state if he pursues those educational studies that he so much enjoys at home, with his parents, rather than at a school which is determined that he must fit into their routine, no matter what.

I wonder if that remark about "loads of money" is making any difference to how those LEA edu-crats are now treating this case. I say, good for you mate. But I wonder if they approve quite so much.

Both of those reports are somewhat out of date, the first one dating from the summer of 2003. However, having finally heard about this ruckus via Daryl Cobranchi's blog in the USA (such are the ways of the blogosphere), I emailed Peter's mother, and I got an instant response, which you can read at Samizdata by following the trackback below (this being the posting that is going up first). Daryl Cobranchi has posted the address of a Hampshire edu-crat and a Hampshire councillor, whom you can write to if you want to join in this argument. My suggestion (based on what I learned when I was an Amnesty International volunteer a long time ago): be polite and phrase your points in the form of questions rather than put-their-backs-up assertions which might be wrong. Lots of polite letters should be the procedure. No doubt this has now been happening for some time.

Here is an imperfect but just about legible scan of the Failure Notice that Hampshire LEA sent to Peter Williams (snr.), also a bit of a while ago.

Charming.