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AMCIS CEO, Tory Gillingham, looks back to the challenges of 2020 and highlights how mar eting and admissions staff have needed to adapt adapt and adapt again to deliver their programmes online.
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n a short survey conducted at the end of 2020, AMCIS members were as ed to re ect on their wor ing life during the unprecedented times that they had been through to date with the coronavirus pandemic. t was very apparent that those wor ing in admissions, mar eting and communications, li e all those wor ing within the independent sector, had had a very challenging year. dapt, adapt and then adapt again was very much the theme of the responses that we received. embers spo e of adapting and con uering oom and icrosoft Teams, in double uic time, to produce virtual summer pen ays that were attended, in some cases, by prospective pupils from around the world not something that would have happened on a normal aturday morning event . nduction days were successfully adapted to online events, with new pupils participating in group acclimatisation activities via video lin s, meeting fellow pupils and teachers. The biggest challenge, which continues into , was not being able to host on site visits. ith only short windows of time available between loc downs and other restrictions when prospective families could be shown around campuses we saw the rise of the ‘virtual tour’. These came in many different forms but each one tailored to showcase their school in the best possible way. s the second wave of the virus too a hold during the autumn term, attention turned to scholarship and assessment days and how these could ta e place. gain, normal procedures were adapted
assessment days were hosted online, with oom invigilators, and some prospective pupils’ sat the exams in their current schools. nnovation continues as write.
Support network
Throughout the course of the pandemic C members have come together, albeit virtually, in a way have never seen before. The support, encouragement and sharing of ideas and nowledge has, in itself, been unprecedented and humbling. The wee long dmissions Connect Event, attended by record numbers of delegates, included a series of ‘warts and all’ presentations on a range of loc down events and measures.
Into 2021
third national loc down and the closing of schools at the beginning of will bring even more challenges to the C membership, but we are already seeing the results of the hard wor , effort, resilience and adaptability which mar ed . n many cases, members schools are reporting record numbers of en uiries and registrations. irtual events are continuing. efinitely not replacing the onsite visits, when allowed, but complementing them. any members have commented that they find this area of their wor , with the new s ills re uired and learnt, exciting and rewarding.
2021 AMCIS Connect Live
A virtual, online event, developed s ecifically or those in ol ed in admissions, marketing and communications, 2021 AMCIS onnect i e o ers a to -class irtual con erence coming direct to your home or o fice digital screens, including: a rogramme ac ed ith highly topical webinars, panel discussions and roundtable sessions to enlighten in orm moti ate enthuse and ins ire • interactive networking opportunities, including group and one-to-one discussions an e tensi e range o e hibitions including meet the e hibitor sessions. o find out more and ensure access all areas or this first-class e ent isit the ebsite www.amcis.co.uk was indeed challenging and it is already loo ing as if could be e ually so, but with the ability to adapt, those challenges can be con uered and deliver successful outcomes across the sector. ●
TORY GILLINGHAM has been the AMCIS CEO for years and had previously wor ed as mar eting and development director at two independent schools in the north of England.
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