Academic coaching · Secondary school students

Your child doesn't need another tutor.

They already have the teacher, the revision guide, the apps, and more resources than you ever had. What's missing isn't more resources — it's someone in their corner who knows how to help them actually use them.

Book a free 20-minute call

Ask yourself this

Do you want to keep trying to fix it for them — or do you want them to start fixing it for themselves?

What's actually missing

It's rarely a resource problem. Most secondary school students today have more academic support available to them than any generation before. The gap is somewhere else.

What they've probably already got

  • A decent teacher
  • A revision guide
  • After-school support
  • More online resources than they could ever use
  • More resources than you ever had access to

What's probably actually missing

  • Someone to help them use the time they have
  • Someone who makes them actually use what's already there
  • The understanding that education isn't happening to them — it's for them
  • Someone who knows how the system really works
  • Someone who can make learning something they choose to do

That's not tutoring.
That's coaching.

A tutor reteaches the subject. A coach does something different — they sit alongside your child, work out where the real barrier is, and help them push through it themselves.

Sometimes that barrier is a gap in understanding. More often, it's organisation, confidence, or simply not knowing where to start. A coach who knows the system — how schools work, how exams are marked, how revision actually sticks — can spot the difference and act on it.

The goal isn't to get your child through one topic. It's to help them get out of their own way, so they can carry that forward long after coaching ends.

How it works

We start with conversations with you and your child, then build a bespoke plan around what is really getting in the way — their school, subjects, confidence, routines, and goals — so the coaching fits the person, not a template.

Peter Cartlidge talking with a student

About your coach

Peter Cartlidge

I've spent 16 years teaching STEM subjects across a range of secondary schools, so I know the system your child is navigating from the inside — how it's structured, how it's marked, and where students most often get stuck.

Alongside teaching, I've coached in professional and sporting settings, working with people at every stage from just starting out to right at the top of their game. What I've learned in both worlds is the same lesson: the difference between someone who improves and someone who doesn't is rarely ability.

That's the difference I bring to academic coaching — not another subject lesson, but someone who knows how to help a young person take ownership of their own progress.

Common questions

If there's something else you'd like to know before booking a call, just ask.

Isn't this just tutoring with a different name?+
Usually, tutoring means reteaching a subject. Coaching supports a child in making their own progress — building confidence, organisation, exam technique, and better study habits. With my teaching experience, I can also blend tutoring into the coaching where it will help, so the support is even more effective for the child in front of me.
Does my child need to be struggling to benefit?+
Not at all. Coaching helps students at every level — from those who are stuck, to those who are doing fine but could be doing themselves more justice.
Is this in person or online?+
Sessions can run either way, whatever suits your family and your child's routine.
What year groups does this suit?+
Coaching works well throughout secondary school, and is particularly useful heading into GCSEs and A-levels, when independent study starts to matter most.
How do we get started?+
Book a free 20-minute call below. We'll talk through where your child is at and whether coaching is the right fit — no pressure either way.

Book a free call

20 minutes, no obligation. We'll talk about where your child is stuck and whether coaching is the right next step.

Prefer email? Reach Peter directly at xyz-coaching@outlook.com