Nottingham Girls' High School (NGHS) had a problem that many established organisations recognise: a strong reputation that was not coming across online. The school had spent over a century building credibility in its community. Its academic results spoke for themselves. But its digital presence was working against it.
The independent education sector was changing. When a neighbouring boys' school became co-educational, NGHS faced direct competition for the same families it had served for years. At the same time, perceptions around single-sex education were shifting in ways that required a clear, confident response - not just offline, but across every digital touchpoint.
Open day registrations were falling. Admissions enquiries were not converting the way they should. And the school's website and digital advertising were not doing enough to bring prospective families in, let alone persuade them.
The Head of Marketing brought Distinction in with a specific challenge: stop the decline, grow open day attendance, and help the school communicate what makes NGHS the right choice for the right families.
"I always have very good, valuable conversations with the team at Distinction, always open and honest. They’re straight forward, reliable and do what they say they will... deliver results!"
We started with research. Before recommending any changes, we needed to understand how prospective parents were finding the school, what questions they were asking, and where the website and messaging were losing them.
The findings shaped everything that followed. The school's messaging was leading with legacy and tradition - both genuine strengths - but was not clearly addressing the concerns that prospective parents actually brought to the conversation: what a girls' school education means for a child's confidence and career, how academic results connect to real-world outcomes, and why NGHS rather than the alternatives.
We worked across four areas. First, we reviewed and sharpened the messaging to address the questions families were actually asking, rather than the ones the school assumed they were asking. Second, we restructured key user journeys on the website to reduce friction on the path from interest to open day registration. Third, we redesigned and rebuilt the open day registration process - previously cumbersome and manual - into something straightforward that families could complete in under two minutes. Finally, we built and ran a targeted multi-channel digital advertising campaign timed around the open day calendar.
Every element was tested and refined throughout. We did not set and forget; the campaign and the website were treated as live assets, adjusted based on what the data showed.
Open day attendance hit record numbers - three times higher than any previous event. The senior school reached full capacity. A single open day generated a pipeline of potential fees in excess of £1.4 million.
The marketing team reported that the quality of enquiries improved as well as the volume. Families arriving at open days were better informed, asking more specific questions, and demonstrating stronger intent. The work changed the conversation from generating interest to managing demand.
