Private one-to-one coaching and mentoring for young men, 16–18

School prepares your son to pass his exams. I'll prepare him for everything that comes after.

As a former Head Teacher, I know exactly how well school prepares a young person to pass exams. I also know how little it does to ready them for everything else.

The grades, the exams, the university place, school has that in hand. But the things that actually matter, how you carry yourself, hold a real conversation, build relationships and handle setbacks. That's what I help young men with, so they reach university sure of who they are and ready for whatever comes next.

Jay Tostevin Masters in Education · Former Head Teacher · Project Director, UAE Government Khotwa Scholarship Programme

Message Jay on WhatsApp

A short, no-commitment chat, just to see if it's the right fit for your son.

The Gap Nobody Plans For

Will my child be okay
when I'm not there?

I know most parents worry about the same thing. Will my child be okay at university when I'm not there? How he settles, how he fits in, how he grows? Who's preparing him for that?

At the same time, the ground beneath young people is shifting. PwC's 2026 research found that entry-level roles most exposed to AI are now about seven times more likely to require skills once reserved for senior employees. Skills such as empathy, leadership, judgement, and dealing with people. The demand for these roles continues to rise, and the old map of get good grades, get the job isn't the same anymore.

Closing the Gap

Three things school never taught him, and how they fit together.

Work on all three, and where they meet is a young man who knows who he is.

Direction

Most young men drift into their biggest decisions rather than choosing them. In a 2025 OECD study of nearly 690,000 students across more than 80 countries, almost half said school had done little to prepare them for adult life. I help your son figure out what kind of life he genuinely wants to build, and why, then how to actually steer toward it. This matters more than ever, because the world is changing the questions faster than school is providing the answers.

Self-worth

Most young men are wired to want everyone's approval. That's not a flaw, it's how adolescence works: teenagers are more attuned to peer feedback, and more driven to chase it, than at any other stage of life. The problem is what happens when your son's sense of worth depends on it. Research shows self-esteem rising and falling with every grade received, and studies link heavier social media use to lower self-esteem the more approval becomes the yardstick. I help him build the alternative: knowing who he is and what he stands for, on his own terms. That's what breeds the quiet confidence that doesn't need an audience to feel real, and the steadiness that holds when things don't go to plan.

Human connection

The ability to walk into any room and belong there. Real conversation, reading people, carrying himself well, building relationships that actually matter. These are the skills that open every door. As AI takes over more of the technical and routine work in the workplace, they're becoming some of the most valuable skills your son can have, not the least.

Who I Am

I've spent my career
helping young people.

As a sports teacher, a Head Teacher, and now as Project Director of the UAE Government's Khotwa Scholarship Programme.

I hold a current UAE police clearance certificate and government security clearance, the same standard of vetting required for my work with Khotwa.

None of this is theoretical for me. My own son was reserved, the kind of young man who found a room full of strangers hard work. The summer he spent in the US, out of his comfort zone and having to talk to people he didn't know, changed that, and it was those conversations, not a stack of applications, that led directly to his first job. We worked through exactly what I now cover with your son: direction, self-worth, and how to hold his own with anyone, anywhere. That is what I intend to keep doing for every young man who comes through after him.

I'm not a therapist, and this isn't therapy. It's coaching: practical, forward-looking, and built to get your son ready for the life in front of him. If he ever needs more than coaching can give, I'll tell you plainly and point you toward the right help.

How It Works

Shaped around your son,
not a fixed syllabus.

No two 16 year olds and no two 18 year olds are in the same place, so I don't run the same year for both. Every young man works through the same three pillars, direction, self-worth, human connection, but the order, pace, and depth are shaped around where he's actually starting from, and what's ahead of him that year. Exams, a big decision, a rough patch: whatever comes up, I adapt around it.

Weekly material

Short material built for a busy week, with WhatsApp voice notes to keep it live in between.

Monthly session

A one-to-one coaching session each month where it's brought together and applied to him specifically. Ten months, September to June, with a lighter pace over the winter break.

Monthly report

A short written update on his progress across the three pillars, so you're never in the dark. His growth and development, not a record of what he's told me directly, that boundary is what keeps him honest with me in the first place.

Let's Talk

The next step is a
short conversation.

No forms, no automated responses. Message me on WhatsApp and tell me a little about your son and where he is. I'll reply personally.