Leweston School, Dorset, undertook a major strategic review to support the school’s aim to provide local, competitively priced, high quality education. This included a potential move from single sex to a co-educational provision. The school also wanted to identify how and where they could target their marketing effort to support planned growth and to understand their customers better.
2018
boys join the school as data supports move to co-education
The project
We proposed using our 3-60 analysis, designed to identify local families who share a school’s values and would likely use an independent school. Our 3-60 detailed:
- The location and size of their market
- Their market share, along with that of their competitors
- Projected changes in population/ planned construction
- High achieving primary schools
- A map of Catholic Baptisms by church to target catholic pupils
- A map of KS2 data to identify feeder schools to target
- Spheres of influence of Grammar Schools
- The potential of a co-educational/ diamond model
Results
We were able to tell Leweston School where to find the right families, highlighting the school’s highest areas of potential for pupil recruitment, giving them insight into the types of families using their school, the lifestyles they live and what’s important to them in an independent school.
By utilising the information from the 3-60, Leweston School were able to consider the market potential of both single-sex and coeducational offerings as well as gain a deep understanding of their current performance within a stated catchment area.
The data supported the school’s decision to reposition with a co-educational diamond model and Leweston welcomed the first boys into the Senior School in September 2018 with boys’ boarding opening in September 2019.
Next steps for Leweston School
The Marketing team at the school continue to the use the data to monitor performance, comparing enquiries against identified ‘hot spots’. It has also informed the school’s media schedule, two direct mail campaigns, driven outreach activities and changes to bus routes.