Support


CASE STUDY: WYMONDHAM COLLEGE, NORFOLK


‘Wymondham College is the largest state boarding school in the country, with more than 1,400 students and 400 staff, set in 80 acres of Norfolk countryside. In 2014, when I was marketing director, we undertook a branding exercise to help redefine the school’s core values and messages. I decided to involve staff and


students to help identify our feelings about the school. A values mapping exercise was conducted with a selection of students from each year group and a selection of staff (from NQTs to senior teachers). They gave their reactions to four themes: functional (facilities and opportunities), emotional


(feelings about the school), relationships and beliefs. It was fascinating to find key


phrases or words that were common among all participants. These included: passionate, caring and sharing, aspirational, trusting and respectful. Everything we did subsequently centered around these core values. The values were expanded into statements to create the school USP, and were incorporated into our website, prospectus and other communications. Best of all, we knew the values were genuinely meaningful because they had originated from people who worked and lived at the school.’ Justin Smith


significant concepts relating to design and architecture. his is all aout trying to find something specific aout your schools environment that can e rought to lie with some careully chosen words or proessional images.


Culture ome schools are uilt around particular religious, political or philosophical afiliations  and this will e reflected in the teaching style and culture o the school. ll schools, however, will find they work rom an understanding aout what is important, what is valued and what is est or children.  simple eercise with sta and


‘Exam results are quantifiable, but it’s the school community that builds shared purpose and belief’


26 AUTUMN 2019 FundEd


students will help draw out the things they are most proud o and the aspects o school lie they eel are most important. ou may e surprised y the results his values mapping eercise should e a quickfire session. oure looking or emotional responses to how people eel aout the school  its acilities, opportunities and interpersonal relationships. aving individuals epress themselves this way is very eective and helps identiy common words or phrases that sum up your school. nd, o course, this is a reallie, accurate reflection o your school and not a generic onesiefitsall marketing message.


Unique features his is aout emphasising any specialist teaching acilities. pecialist schools should highlight what their specialism rings, ensuring their status is meaningul in terms o acilities, teaching or school lie. owever, care should e taken not to overdo the specialism and alienate students who may not ecel in that particular discipline, or parents who want reassurance that the curriculum is not narrow.


School life e oten make decisions ased on emotion, and parents may decide on a school or their child ecause o what a place eels like. efining the opportunities that are open to pupils, whether thats through etracurricular activities and trips, competitions, or regular clus and societies, helps uild a sense that theres something more going on ehind the scenes. he school community etends eyond the classroom and thats oten dificult to capture and communicate. am results are quantifiale, ut its the school community that uilds shared purpose and elie. onvey lie at your school y using careully selected photos and quotes rom the children. his is an opportunity to show what the school oers in terms o support and improvement.


IMAGE: ELLERSLIE77/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60