8 minute read
Life in The Shack
THE SHACK
Sedbergh is a thriving boarding school. Principal, Andrew Fleck shares their admissions and recruitment best practice and provides valuable insights for our readers
Faced with increased competition in the UK and abroad, independent schools are working harder than ever to recruit pupils. When ISC published their 2018 stats that UK boarding numbers had fallen 57% in the last 20 years, you can only imagine the thoughts going through the minds of admissions and marketing departments around the United Kingdom.
Sedbergh School is one of the few remaining proper ‘full boarding’ schools in the UK with over 550 pupils who stay 24/7. For a school in the north of England, Sedbergh is doing exceptionally well and has seen a continued increase in applications over the last six years. We believe this is, in large part, attributable to Sedbergh’s global reputation, effective marketing activity and efficient yet personalised admissions process.
To further build on this success, Sedbergh is investing in its overseas partnerships and in September 2018 opened Rong Qiao Sedbergh School in China.
It’s about strong foundations
Many schools will talk about structure, discipline and a rigorous curriculum being the core principles that underpin daily life at an independent school. These principles don’t just apply to pupils and teaching staff, it is also evident within an admissions and marketing department; a well-structured department with strong leadership, realistic expectations and a clear vision and strategy helps form the foundations of an effective team.
Every school is different. But most schools promote the same USPs rather than focusing on what really makes their school stand out from the competition. It isn’t just about academic results, league tables, facilities and pastoral care – there is so much more. Articulating this difference can be challenging, but doing so will give those in the school community (pupils, staff, current future and past families, agents, feeder school heads and more) a clear understanding of the school’s ‘X’ factor.
We call it The Sedbergh Difference! Having this understanding running through the veins of the marketing and admissions team provides clarity and confidence.
Where does the action happen?
Nestled in the heart of Sedbergh School, at the top of School Hill overlooking the Yorkshire Dales in the North of England, lies The Shack; defined by the Oxford dictionary as a roughly built hut or cabin. But the Sedbergh Shack isn’t just any old hut! Inside you’ll find the central operations team for admissions and marketing – a team on which all stakeholders depend to continue the school’s 494 years of existence.
Sedbergh has a team of ten responsible for the marketing and admissions of the Prep, Senior and International Summer Schools. Reporting to Sedbergh School’s Principal, the admissions team comprises a senior school UK registrar, a senior school overseas registrar, a prep school registrar and two admissions assistants; the marketing team has grown recently and now boasts a senior school UK marketing manager, a prep school marketing manager, an international marketing manager, a social media and PR officer and a digital marketing manager. Each brings their own area of expertise, has their own area of responsibility with clear KPIs, and contributes to the mutually supportive team that performs such a key role. The Shack is a friendly and efficient hub into which colleagues from the school common room and operational staff are warmly welcomed.
Working in a marketing and admissions department is a 24/7 operation; when we aren’t dealing with enquiries, we are processing applications, organising tours, planning our next event, researching potential markets, writing press releases, launching campaigns, managing budgets and (occasionally!) making coffee. We are often asked what a typical day is like in The Shack, but every day is different!
As a department we work very closely with regular communication and meetings to ensure all the team members have a clear understanding of each others’ workloads, of student availability and our many planned events. Without this, we wouldn’t be able to effectively implement our individual strategies and plans to meet the school’s overall targets.
The best exponents of The Sedbergh Difference are our pupils – both past and present. Our Marketing Manager, Kirsty, is the key to orchestrating events – at Sedbergh School and Sedbergh Prep – that bring new families into contact with them. Be it an open day, a boarding experience weekend, a subject-specific masterclass, or a team-based competition, Kirsty plans the detail, briefs the staff and pupils involved and markets it to interested families and defined target markets.
Just as important as the experience itself is the follow-up to those who have participated – and this is where our seamless teamwork comes in ensuring a co-ordinated approach.
It’s not just UK social
We are fortunate to have social media and PR expertise within the team; with constant notifications and over 40 official social media pages to monitor there is never a dull moment.
Matt is currently working on a new project which involves researching and developing social media pages on new international platforms including WeChat, VKontakte and Youku.
Using country-specific social networking pages offers the potential to develop overseas brand awareness and tap into new markets. Remember though, to implement your social media strategy it is all about timing, understanding your audience and communicating with all school stakeholders including academics, parents and pupils. Don’t judge the success of your activity through page likes/ followers, it is all about engagement.
When is your next holiday?
It always amuses the international marketing manager when academic staff wish him an enjoyable “holiday” as he jets off to his next recruitment destination. Next week David’s off to Malaga... it isn’t as glamorous as it sounds! With 50 ‘speed dating’ appointments with overseas agents and additional meetings at international schools, there’s barely even time to reply to emails and check in with colleagues back at The Shack. When David isn’t travelling, he spends his time designing adverts for the senior school, writing newsletters, creating videos, attending house meetings, skyping agents and at times taking WeChat calls during the early hours of the morning. You need to have your finger on the pulse at all times when it comes to working with overseas markets.
When promoting your school abroad it is extremely important to understand your product, your USPs, and most importantly, your target audience. Since his arrival at Sedbergh in November 2017, David has immersed himself in the school, sitting in lessons, interviewing pupils and playing a key part as a house tutor every Thursday, enabling him to fully understand what life as a boarder is really like. Agents want transparency and honesty from school representatives, and this is key when trying to develop your international partnerships.
Turning interest into action
With a strong flow of enquiries arriving daily, Senior School Admissions is a busy room in The Shack. It goes without saying that a timely and warm response to all enquiries is critical. With calls and emails coming in from families, feeder school head teachers and agents, it is key to think on your feet, have intel at your finger-tips and to work as a team. Building relationships, helping influencers understand our school and encouraging first-hand engagement are the first steps to success. Much emphasis is put on planning family visits to ensure a personalised, relevant experience.
First impressions mean so much – our team greets visitors and then ensures every programme goes to plan. The proof is in the pudding though – the input of pupils and staff is invaluable. Following up on visits and carefully guiding each enquiry through a clear and structured admissions process further builds insight from both sides.
The admissions team is also responsible for managing the scholarship process, liaising with the Bursary to support applications seeking finance, and working closely with the marketing team on events in school. The Registrar takes the time to visit feeder schools to understand what their pupils are looking for in a senior school; this can be a fun time to meet new families, talk to ongoing applicants, meet key staff in the schools, and of course catch up with peers.
None of the success of Sedbergh School admissions would be possible without there being a great school producing confident, humble, resilient young people who have fulfilled their academic potential and more. There is nothing better than answering the phone and talking to an interested family about our pupils’ successes and how they are achieved.
Get stuck in!
At the Prep School, our marketing and admissions team are, in addition to their recruitment responsibilities, closely involved in the day-to-day life of the school – and we wouldn’t have it any other way. From setting up tasters and conducting tours, organising STEM outreach sessions in the robotics workshop and promoting activity mornings for Early Years children, through to getting out and about trying to capture what life is like at the school for social media, we love the variety and difference that every day brings.
In the background we are also working through our marketing plan for the year to profile and promote the Prep School and engage our target audience within both our local day market and furtherafield boarding market. The Registrar deals with the day-to-day enquiries, as well as following up with prospective families who have shared an interest in the school and manages the administration of new enrolments. They work very closely with the Senior School and have the full support of the entire marketing team during the week and at weekend events.
What lies ahead?
With a level of uncertainty around Brexit and questions from European agents and families on how it will affect recruitment and admission processes, schools are working hard to prepare themselves for the unexpected. We are fully aware of the many challenges that marketing and admissions teams are facing around the country. We are lucky to have a strong team, but many of us at Sedbergh have experienced the one-man band setup with small budgets and big mountains to climb. The educational market is a challenge, but an exciting one it is, and the competition keeps us on our toes.
Andrew Fleck
is Principal of Sedbergh School, where he has been since 2010. He has overall responsibility for the School, Casterton Sedbergh Prep School and Rong Qiao Sedbergh School, China.
