How do you transform the perceptions of a local college to drive pupil recruitment?

St John Fisher Catholic College & Sixth Form

Workshops, Campaign, Brand Narrative, Strategy

Background

St John Fisher Catholic College & Sixth Form, situated in Newcastle-under-Lyme, educates and inspires children aged 11-18 years. Cultivating ‘the fisher way’, the college is known for being a safe, loving and comfortable space for pupils to learn.

The aim

As the only high school in Newcastle-under-Lyme with a sixth form, it should stand out amongst its competitors. However, the college found itself facing limited awareness and external perceptions that didn’t align with the true John Fisher experience. The team approached us to help transform these misaligned perceptions and raise awareness of the college in the local area.

Crafting a strategy

To do this, we had to get to the core of what St John Fisher Catholic College and Sixth Form stands for. We conducted stakeholder workshops, student focus groups and student surveys to develop a full and robust picture of the challenges, insights and opportunities. We then crafted a brand strategy, developing positioning and key messaging that clearly communicates the real mission of St John Fisher to students and parents.

Elevating the visual identity

To align the visuals with the new narrative, we developed key brand elements including the logo and colour palette. Extracting the fish shapes and scales from the logo, we created illustrative assets for use in marketing materials.

It was important that the visual identity of the sixth form aligned with the college as a whole, but predominantly appealed to Y11 students and their parents. This was pivotal in achieving the sixth form’s objective of optimising student recruitment. By using a varied colour palette and making considered photographic decisions, we’ve been able to differentiate between the high school and sixth form – without losing the core identity of the college.

Female student standing in front of a blue background

Driving student recruitment

To accelerate the recruitment of sixth form pupils for September 2024 entry, we launched an awareness campaign to all students and their families alongside a targeted recruitment campaign. With carefully crafted copy and engaging design, we created social ads to target the audience at key stages of the application process.

And of course, we needed somewhere to direct our audience. So, we designed and built a unique landing page that aligned with the brand’s positioning and supported a key goal of prospectus downloads to encourage student applications.

Email Example for support at St John Fisher Sixth Form

Testimonial

"Working with Starbots Creative delivered strong ROI - boosting brand awareness, pupil admissions and parental engagement. St John Fisher’s Sixth Form saw a 45% rise in Y12 applications and 40% more taster day sign-ups."

Cathy Booth,
Chief Financial Officer, Christ the King Catholic Collegiate

Testimonial

“Starbots Creative truly understood our mission and values, shaping a distinctive brand that reflects our purpose and sets us apart. The result confidently positions us as a regional leader with real clarity.”

Cathy Booth,
Chief Financial Officer, Christ the King Catholic Collegiate

Inside The Project

“It’s been fantastic to support another school in the Christ the King Catholic Collegiate family, helping drive pupil recruitment and inspire young people to shape their futures.”

Emma Bagley,
Business Development Director, Starbots Creative

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