Alex Batty taught himself everything he knows by reading the Harry Potter books over and over again.
British schoolboy Alex Batty claimed his mother didn't want him to be a 'slave to the system' as they flitted around Europe living a nomadic hippie lifestyle after she allegedly kidnapped him.
Alex revealed that since they rarely had Wi-Fi, his biggest hobby was reading JK Rowling's hit novels about a young wizard.
He has read each of the seven books “at least 20 times,” he said The sun.
The 17-year-old spent six years off-the-grid with his mother, Melanie Batty, and her father, David, as they bounced between homes on the continent after Alex was allegedly kidnapped at the age of 11.
Alex Batty taught himself everything he knows by reading every Harry Potter book 'at least 20 times'
Melanie Batty sits next to her father David Batty and her son Alex Batty (far left) at a market in June 2023
Alex is pictured with his mother and grandfather after he was reportedly kidnapped when he was eleven
Alex revealed that as they rarely had Wi-Fi, his biggest hobby was reading JK Rowling's hit novels about the young wizard Harry Potter.
Yet isolated from people his own age and having been out of school since going missing in October 2017, Alex admitted he became disillusioned with his life forced upon him by his “anti-government”, “anti-” vax's parent.
In a desperate bid, the teenager even tried to enroll in a top French school earlier this year to fulfill his dreams of one day working in IT. But this failed when staff became suspicious and called the police.
This month, after years of doubt and a desire to return to his family in England, Alex made a daring midnight flight to escape – and has now been reunited with his grandmother Susan Caruana, 68, at her family home in Oldham, Greater Manchester .
Speaking about his lack of education, Alex told The Sun: 'I had a Harry Potter box set. I'm obsessed with it and have read each book at least twenty times.
“I carried it everywhere, even though it was huge.”
Alex Batty (pictured left) with his mother Melanie and grandfather David six years ago
Alex had been thinking about escaping since he was fourteen or fifteen. He eventually had a falling out with his mother and Alex decided he “just couldn't live with her” and had to run away.
He said his mother was always “against the idea” of returning to England.
His mother and alleged kidnapper are still on the run. Greater Manchester Police this week launched a criminal investigation into Alex's alleged kidnapping.
Alex said she had talked about going to see the Northern Lights in Finland with friends, but her whereabouts are unknown.
The youngster opened up about his time with her, adding that she once left him with her father for seven months while she frolicked with friends elsewhere in Europe.
While living off the grid, Alex had convinced his mother to move to a rented farm instead of living in the mountains.
Tired of constantly moving and working in exchange for food and lodging, he said he only made one friend his own age during the six years he was away: a Spanish girl he met in a café .
She allegedly forced Alex to live in a “spiritual community” rather than return to his grandmother, who is his legal guardian.
The teenager added that he learned languages himself and studied mathematics and computer science from textbooks, but did not go to school.
Alex, from Oldham, was 11 when he failed to return from a holiday to Spain
A tent in the woods in the 'Garden of Eden' 'spiritual community' near Chalabre
A sign for L'Eden is pictured near the spiritual community where Alex once resided
It emerged on Thursday that Alex had even tried to enroll at a prestigious IT university in Perpignan, in the south of France, last July.
Teachers at Ecole 42 (School 42) were impressed by his online application, which included passing a computer exam 'with flying colours'.
However, they became concerned that he was using a false name.
“He gave his name Zack Edwards,” said Marie Payré, Ecole 42's administrative director.
Alex is pictured with his mother Melanie, left, and her father David Batty, centre
The spiritual community of Garden of Eden, where Melanie Batty lived
“He told us by email that an airline had lost his identification papers.”
When Alex arrived in Perpignan, “we started to get an idea of what was going on,” Ms. Payré told French radio station Bleu.
At that point, Alex allegedly said, “Zack Edwards is just a nickname, my real name is Alex Batty.”
Géro Vigney, the director of Ecole 42, realized that his potential student could have been a wanted child, and that his mother was on the run.
Mr Vigney handed over all the details to the police, including the address where Alex was staying. But extraordinarily, the French police officers failed to take action on the tip because they were on strike.