Overview

We built a website for ASHS to attract new students and their parents, as well as providing a platform for communication within the school.

The Challenge

Faced with wider choices for parents and funding based on student numbers, schools increasingly have to market themselves to attract new students. Archbishop Sancroft High School, in Harleston, Norfolk, needed a website to communicate its unique strengths directly to prospective students and their parents. The new site had to communicate the school’s many successes, reach a diverse audience and give students an opportunity to display their work too.

The Solution

We based our solution on the needs of various user groups. Prospective students and their parents were guided towards personal messages from the headteacher, as well as content from the teaching staff on their areas of expertise and out-of-school activities that they managed. Parents of existing students were given easy access to the school calendar, curriculum and homework details, along with key corporate information such as the school’s OFSTED action plan, contact details, policies and ‘Flexible Friday’ initiative. Staff were provided with a portal to key information and a secure repository for storing confidential data, while governors were given an effective way to communicate the many ways in which they support the school. The new site has driven an increase in enquiries and student joining the school, which in turn boosts funding. Routine enquiries to the school office are down 30%, and participation in extracurricular activities is up. Parents are more involved in homework, and a new gallery shows visitors the range of events arranged by the school. The content of the site is now managed by a group of students, giving them valuable skills and experience.