Updates, and future plans

I’ve been adding lots of new features to the Physics With Keith page recently. Here are a few of the changes that have happened, or are coming soon.

Log in changes

I was using WordPress.com to manage enrolment, but that carried several drawbacks. Firstly, WordPress.com’s ‘Single Sign On’ was not well integrated with other WordPress plugins. It forced users to sign in twice to get access to all features. I wanted to include a simple chat interface to support students who do not have a YouTube account (and also I wanted tutees to be able to be anonymous if they choose, so they could communicate without fear of embarrassment), but that would not have been practical with the old log in method. Once or twice a tutee found that they had enrolled but were unable to log in, and when I raised that with WordPress.com they agreed that it was a bug, but I never saw it fixed.

I am transitioning over to a different membership plugin, which seems to integrate better with other plugins. It also gives me the ability to issue voucher codes (which I was unable to do before). This means I will be able to continue to offer discounted tuition for students who cannot afford the full rate, with far less work needed behind the scenes. The new membership plugin also gives tutees more control over their own enrolment and payment options. Changes are easier to make, and I should be able to give better support without having to defer to WordPress.com if things go wrong. The membership plugin has been around for 15 years and it is very well reviewed. Hopefully this will be an improvement.

If you have a legacy enrolment, you can stay on that until the end of the academic year. I have already sent and email to tutees who enrolled on the annual plan describing how to migrate over. Tutees who pay monthly will be getting instructions in July. If you enrolled very recently (after 15 April 2026) then none of this affects you.

Gamification and recognition

Some tutees turn up week in, week out. They get involved in the sessions, ask great questions, and work through the questions to the best of their ability. I feel that it would be good to recognise and celebrate their hard work. To that end, a few weeks ago I introduced some gamification tools.

Each time an enrolled tutee visits their dashboard, their attendance is logged. The more weeks they attend, the higher their rank will become. Occasionally there will be special events that, if attended, will earn achievements. Tutees will be able to earn achievements in other ways, but I have not worked out the details yet.

So much for acquiring prestige, but how do you show it off? Simple, go to the certificate page while logged on and hit print! On most computers you can print as a pdf or as an image file if you want to share it with social media (or maybe just screenshot it for now). Or you can print it on paper or card and add it to your burgandy “national record of achievement” folder (showing my age) or stick it to your fridge.

What’s next?

I’ve been reading marketing blogs and articles about how to improve my reach and help more people. The concensus seems to be unanimous; I am charging too little. Apparently charging too little is likely to be interpreted as me undervaluing myself and what I offer, and therefore it is likely to make potential tutees more wary. The saying goes, “if it looks too good to be true, it usually is.”

As an experienced teacher (teaching since 2010, leading my physics department since 2013), a highly qualified teacher (MPhys Hons. degree, PGCE with QTS), a teacher with experience relevent to supporting students (Isaac Science ambassador, AQA A-Level Physics examiner, providing online tuition since 2020), apparently I can charge pretty much whatever I want and people will pay it. That makes me uncomfortable.

I do not believe that only wealthy people should be able to access expert support. Physics tuition should be available to all. So here is the riddle, how do I charge enough to be taken seriously, whilst still being able to support less affluent students? Vouchers!

The A-Level Physics sessions in particular are very busy, and it can be difficult to give feedback to absolutely everyone; this is another challenge. I want to support as many people as possible, but it is not possible for me to support absolutely everyone who needs it because I am just one person and my time is limited.

The fix

So this is what is coming up: from September, there will be two tiers for accessing the tuition sessions.

The first tier will be for viewing only. Tutees enrolled on this tier will be able to watch live sessions, watch the recordings of past sessions, access the resources on the dashboard, get the weekly preparation videos and weekly homework, but these tutees will not be able to interact live.

The second tier will be for participants. It will provide everything the first tier does, but also allow tutees to use the live chat during tuition sessions (to ask questions and give answers), and use the digital whiteboard (to answer questions and get real time live written feedback). This level provides accountability and a personalised approach to the students improving.

Importantly, I will still offer discount codes to people so that the sessions are accessible, but I will need to limit numbers to the second tier because otherwise I will not be able to give useful feedback to each of the tutees.

It means especially anxious tutees will be able to be viewers until they feel ready and comfortable to become participants.

Trial session discount codes can link to the viewers tier so that parents can see what it is they’ll be getting when they enrol. They won’t feel like it is a gamble enroling, they will be able to see that what I offer is legitimate.

I am still trying to figure out what the two price points will be: the cost needs to be high enough to inspire confidence, whilst low enough to be accessible. I may operate a waiting list for enrolment too, in case all of the participant tutee spaces fill up.

What do you think? Please do click here to let me know your thoughts. This will be a significant shift for the next academic year, but hopefully it will help me to support even more students.