Last weekend, QLocal’s Roger Blaxall got chatting to a couple from Newport, Wales whose daughter was preparing to start at Edge Hill.

To say they – and their daughter - were disappointed is an understatement; she’d just heard that she would be in Uni for just one day a week, a Monday, from 9am -6pm.

“And that was after we had paid her tuition fees and accommodation,” added her father.

She won’t be the only one, either – which is why an email which arrived at the busy QLocal news desk is so relevant to her and thousands of other students right now…

It came from a proud mum whose son and friends have launched a unique new study e-book aimed at helping sixth formers contemplating uni - and current students - with timely, practical advice on how to study in this Covid 19 world.

Peter Wallich of London (his unusual surname is of German extraction) has many happy memories of holidays in Ormskirk as a youngster at his grandparents. He’s now 20 and in his final year after studying philosophy and economics at Oxford; it’s here where he and some friends saw a gap in the market as they contemplated their experiences of self-motivation when faced with hours of ‘lone’ studies.

“Coming to university can be daunting enough,” he said.

“We wanted to share tips on the challenges facing students in this new learning environment."

“I had returned home from Oxford in summer which was when a group of us developed the e-book (now being promoted on https://learnbetterathome.com/)

“It was inspired by lockdown and with my friends and I concerned about the impact of school closures on education, we got together to share how we self-study successfully,” he explained.

“Now, we want to tell our story to even more people,” added Peter, 20, who was helped by friends Tom Flatters (20, York), Scarlett Whelan (20, Leamington Spa), Tejas Acharya (19, Bangalore) and graphic designer Li Ho Kan from Hong Kong, all Oxford undergrads.

Already, 'Learn Better At Home: the Student Guide to Effective Self-Study', a pay-what-you-want e-book has been downloaded over 1,000 times and featured in the Daily Telegraph and The Hindu (India).

All proceeds from the book are going to what Peter describes as a highly effective charity: GiveDirectly (http://givedirectly.org)