More Than Learning® began, like many meaningful businesses do, with a child.
In 2008, when my eldest son Mike started school, I felt the same mix of excitement and hope that every parent feels. I also carried something else — an awareness that the traditional education system doesn’t work for every child.
There is a history in my family of struggling within school, and I was determined that Mike’s experience would be different. I didn’t want him shaped by labels or limited by a system that might not recognise how he learned best.
I spoke to the school early on, sharing my concerns. I was told it was too soon to identify any learning differences and that we should “wait and see.”
But as he began learning to read and write, I could see it clearly — he processed information differently.
And then came the words that changed everything.
At just five years old, Mike began saying:
No parent forgets hearing that.
Because those words aren’t about reading.
They’re about identity.
And once a child starts believing they are “not good enough,” that belief can follow them far beyond the classroom — into career choices, confidence, ambition and adulthood itself.
That was the moment More Than Learning truly began.
At the time, I was studying Cognitive Hypnotherapy and NLP, deepening my understanding of how the brain works, how beliefs are formed, and how learning patterns develop.
I began applying everything I was learning at home.
Mike won’t mind me saying he became my first case study. Not to fix him — because he wasn’t broken — but to understand how to unlock his confidence and help him see his strengths.
My goal was simple but powerful:
I wanted him to leave school believing he could learn.
Believing he was capable.
Believing there were no limits to what he could achieve.
That goal now underpins everything we do.
Over time, what started as a personal mission evolved into a structured methodology — one that has supported hundreds of students to rediscover confidence, self-belief and a love of learning on their own terms.
In 2015, I made the decision to work exclusively with students, particularly teenagers. By this stage, it was clear to me that many young people weren’t struggling because they lacked ability — they were struggling because the system didn’t fit them.
To understand that system more deeply, I became a parent governor at a secondary school. What I saw reinforced my belief:
Schools are under immense pressure.
Results matter. Targets matter. Data matters.
But in that environment, individuality can easily be squeezed out.
Teachers work incredibly hard, yet there is little room for creativity or flexibility beyond the syllabus. And so, many capable young people quietly begin to believe they simply aren’t “academic.”
That belief is what we exist to change.
As the work evolved, we formalised our methodology into what is now the 3Ls Framework®:
Helping students understand how they naturally learn best.
Identifying and transforming the “I can’t” narratives that hold them back.
Reframing past learning experiences and building positive, forward-focused momentum.
This framework became the foundation of our programmes.
In 2020, we launched the Study Success Programme to support GCSE students in discovering how to revise effectively and independently.
In 2022, we introduced the Successful Sixth Former Programme, recognising how challenging the transition to Year 12 can be for both students and parents.
Each programme was built not just from theory — but from real experience, real students and real results.
By 2022, the business was running at full capacity.
Demand was growing. Results were speaking for themselves. Parents were recommending us. Students were transforming.
And I faced a decision.
I could keep the business small and contained.
Or I could create a way for more young people to benefit — without diluting the integrity or heart of the work.
Cloning myself wasn’t an option.
But building a network of passionate, values-driven individuals who care deeply about young people?
That was.
At the start of 2023 we started developing More Than Learning Ltd® to become a franchise opportunity.
Not just a business model — but a mission-led opportunity for the right people.
This is for individuals who believe education should build confidence, not crush it.
Who understand that learning is not one-size-fits-all.
Who want to run a meaningful business that changes lives — including their own.
Mike is now everything I hoped he would be, confident, self-assured and secure in how he learns.
And today, we are actively recruiting franchise partners, so that transformation is no longer limited to one child, one town or one story.
It’s a growing movement.
And we’re just getting started.
