Early career (1972–1985) Cooper's career began in 1972 with
Voluntary Service Overseas, serving as a teacher at Chassa Secondary School in
Zambia. In 1974, he joined the independent sector as a director of biology at
Mill Hill School in London, serving in that capacity until 1978. Cooper focused on maintaining the academic standards established by his predecessor, Trevor Kimber, and developed strong international links with schools in
France,
Germany, and
Spain. He also worked to modernize the school's administration; in 1990, he nominated his secretary, Brionie Benn, for a national "Super Secretary" award, crediting her with transitioning the school office to a computerized system. Cooper announced his departure in February 1990 to take up a principalship in the
Netherlands. The completed facility received an architectural award for being the best-built school in the Netherlands.During his nine-year principalship, Cooper focused on fostering a "British spirit" of education that balanced academic discipline with a wide range of extracurricular activities, including sports teams that competed in Dutch national leagues and high-level drama productions. In 1997, Cooper was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the
New Year Honours. The award was given in recognition of his service to education and for furthering British interests in the Netherlands. He left the Netherlands in 1999 to take up his next headship in London. A survey published in 2000 indicated that under his tenure, Latymer sent more students to
Oxford and
Cambridge than any other state school. Managing a highly over-subscribed institution, Cooper reported that the school received 1,810 applications for 180 places in 2001, leading him to publicly counsel parents to be prepared for failure in the selection process. In February 2002, he initiated a legacy scheme alongside former heads
Edward Kelly and Geoffrey Mills to encourage former students to support the school's endowment foundations. Academic recognition continued in February 2003 when the
Department for Education and Skills ranked Latymer as the top school in England for "adding value" based on pupil progress relative to their entry levels. In June 2003, Cooper launched the "Triple Five Campaign", an initiative seeking 500 donors to contribute £5 a month for five years to raise the £300,000 required to secure a £3 million government grant for a new sports hall and dining complex. He also modernised the school's technology, overseeing the June 2004 launch of the Latymer Integrated Learning Environment (LILE), which allowed students to access the school
intranet from home, and installing a wireless network with mobile laptop trolleys. His tenure culminated in a January 2005
Ofsted inspection that rated the school as "excellent with many outstanding features," specifically praising his leadership and noting that 71% of lessons were deemed "excellent" or "very good." Cooper retired as headteacher in July 2005 to pursue voluntary work abroad with VSO in
Pakistan. Reflecting on the school's selective status in 2012, he stated that he did not understand why people wished to "destroy something that works."
Post-headship and governance Immediately following his retirement from The Latymer School in 2005, Cooper served as a Staff Development Adviser and Trainer for Voluntary Service Overseas until 2007. This role involved educational training in
Pakistan. He was also a director of
Callywith College. From 17 March 2016 to 16 March 2020, he served as the Chair of the Peninsula Learning Trust in St Austell, holding the position until the trust merged with the Newquay Education Trust to form the Cornwall Education Learning Trust. He also served as a Director of the Tudor Academy Trust in Feltham from 2016 until 2025. ==Personal life==