FIFTEEN-year-old Phillip Keene was elated when he completed the Coast To Coast cycle marathon for charity. But he also felt absolutely shattered after cycling a bone-shaking 135 miles. Phillip had been tired before but, like any other teenager with bags of energy, he always bounced back to normal in no time. This time, worryingly, frighteningly, the tiredness just would not go away.

At first his parents, Bill and Cynthia Keene, from Pittington, near Durham, thought the problem would sort itself out but days stretched into weeks and Phillip still felt utterly drained and unable to do very much at all.

"It was really scary. There were times when he just couldn't get out of bed," Mrs Keene remembers.

Their GP realised the baffling problem needed investigating and referred Phillip to a hospital specialist.

After a barrage of tests and the elimination of other possible illnesses, the family were told that Phillip was probably suffering from ME (myalgic encephomyelitis), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome.

While there is no cure for ME - and there is still debate in the medical world about the mysterious illness - there is evidence that sufferers can lead full lives by conserving their energy and carefully managing their time.

As Phillip's family tried to find out what was wrong with their son, his education began to suffer. Time passed and as it became increasingly obvious he would not be able to cope with his old school at Framwellgate, Phillip was referred to the Home and Hospital Support Service, a branch of Durham County Council's little-known Learning Support Services.

That was getting on for two years ago and now 17-year-old Phillip is back at school, studying for A levels after overcoming his difficulties and getting good grades at his GCSEs this summer.

"My teacher, Mrs Thomas, was a real help with the school work. With her help and with the support of my parents I was gradually able to manage the illness. I got through the GCSEs and I am now in the sixth form taking maths and computing at A-level," says Phillip. Doctors have told Phillip that there is no cure for his debilitating condition, thought to be triggered by a virus when he was exhausted after his long cycle ride, but they have encouraged him to attempt to do more.

"They have told me that by managing my illness my body will be better equipped to fight it. I can just about cope with school and homework but beyond that I tend not to be able to do much," he says.

Phillip is just the latest in a long line of youngsters to be given a second-chance after often devastating illness or accident has intervened.

Kath Tansey is team leader of the Home and Hospital Support Service which is run out of an office in Ferryhill, County Durham. "It is nice to celebrate when children have done extremely well despite being injured or being ill," says Mrs Tansey. "There was very good support between his teacher, Jenny Thomas, and his school."

The sheer scale of the problem of providing education for home-based children means that youngsters are rationed to a maximum of five hours tuition a week. But with the support of the schools and the parents, many youngster do surprisingly well.

"We currently have around 180 pupils supported by the home teaching service, including quite a few who have ME. Some are off for a considerable length of time, particularly children with chronic illnesses or those recovering from serious injury," says Kath.

The local education authority has a legal obligation to provide education and has to step in if school attendance becomes impossible.

"Because many sick children are unable to get back to school for long periods they run the risk of losing touch with their education and their friends. It is an issue of equal opportunity," she says. Despite the restricted teaching time available, great efforts are made to ensure the pupil studying at home stays in step with what is happening to his or her former classmates.

This enables the youngsters to slot back into the classroom if and when the time is right.

Philip's mother remembers being very worried about her son becoming socially isolated as well as falling behind at school. "At first his friends stayed in touch but it is very difficult, their lives have to go on," she says.

One of the joys of returning to school was being reunited with his old mates. "He gets very tired but he is coping with it," says Mrs Keene.

As youngsters begin to recover from illness, the question of education looms large, says Mrs Tansey.

"Some of the children are very concerned at the amount of work they have missed. If they are very ambitious and have lots of plans they can see everything slipping away. They can see their friends achieving great things and it can be very frustrating," says Kath.

This is why it is vital to give the maximum support to home-based youngsters boosting their morale and keeping them in touch with the mainstream.

With a total of 31 teachers available to the service, the work goes on in and out of hospital.

Regular meetings are held to decide when it is time to go back to school.

Despite the restrictions, the Home and Hospital Support Service can be proud of the achievements of its many temporary pupils.

"This summer 98 per cent of our pupils got A to G grades at GCSE and 49 per cent got A to C grades. That is what it is all about," adds Mrs Tansey.