Marketing: Behind the Scenes

By Ceara Hayden, Head of Marketing and Admissions

 

Hello. It is with absolute delight that I introduce myself as the Head of Marketing and Admissions here at school. Now in situ for a year - I can certainly testify that it has been one mammoth rollercoaster of a ride - but one where I wouldn’t have changed anything at all. Well - perhaps not breaking a hip and having major surgery or dealing with a global pandemic might have made the job easier - but life is full of surprises and that’s what makes it interesting.

My first task on commencing the role was to rebrand the entire school. As you do. And we did. Following a summer of design consultations and approval-seeking from all sides, our new logo and branding were born. We were highly conscious of keeping the heritage of the school prominent, so the crest needed to stay. At the same time, we wanted to reflect our evolution. We were a school rising from the ashes of a proud and historic past - but fundamentally a new school. A fusion school where past meets future. Alongside the new crest came colours, fonts, a new strapline - Where West Meets East - all underpinning our new philosophy of producing future global citizens, though with the past and heritage still firmly as foundations.

Task complete, this then lead to a summer of creation. A new website. New prospectus. New promotional materials. We were ready, come September, to hit the ground running.

I’m not going to lie. Marketing St Bees is not an easy job! Yes, we know its beauty, its offerings, its opportunities. But we lie on the West Coast of Cumbria. We are the furthest settlement from a motorway. And we only had fifteen students. The top three questions we get asked in Admissions?  

1. Where are you/where’s the nearest city?
2. How much does it cost?
3. How many students do you have?

Here, we don’t see these as weaknesses. These are our strengths.  Location - the safest place in England, on the fringe of the Lake District National Park with a beach on the doorstep. Fees - reasonable compared to other boarding schools and with hugely competitive and incentivising discounts (did you know that as an OSB, your children receive a discount?). Student numbers - yes, fifteen, but with fifty in September. And look at their intensive schooling, the strong mentoring they receive. Each and every one of our students is an individual, not a number.  

And so we grew. In the space of six months, we tripled our numbers for the coming September - half of whom were obtained whilst working remotely on ‘lockdown’. And that is due to the fact that the school is strong. Stronger than it has been in a long time, and with a strength that is only set to grow. And parents can see that. Our unique fusion school, with global outlook and forward looking mind set is what is needed in our society - needed now more than ever.

This was never more solidly proven than when ‘lockdown’ hit and our students moved seamlessly to learning remotely online, via video conferencing. The feedback has been overwhelming and we are fully aware of how this has resulted in our students further excelling in resilience, independence, confidence and an awareness for others - skills that will prepare them for life. 

And so we continue to grow and leap from strength to strength. With a cohort of fifty plus for September, with students from the UK, Romania, Germany, Turkey and China coming - thirty of whom will be boarders, the next chapter of St Bees will and can only be bigger and better. We look forward to welcoming you to join us for the ride.

 

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The St Beghian Society    
St Bees School,    St Bees,    Cumbria,    CA27 0DS.

         Tel: (01946) 828093      Email: osb@stbeesschool.co.uk      Web: www.st-beghian-society.co.uk