Jess Harris offers advice on how to get your school noticed by international high net worth individuals

Quintessentially Education regularly works with international high-net worth (HNW) families. Its tuition and education consultancy business is part of the Quintessentially luxury lifestyle group, which has more than 30 offices worldwide, with a global audience of discerning clients. You could say that HNW families are its bread and butter. So how do you attract an audience of international HNW families to your school? Here are our top 10 tips:

Results matter

Whether you’re a senior school or a prep school, display your leavers’ results front and centre on all your external touchpoints such as your website, prospectuses and social channels. International families are clued up and shop around. They want the best of the best and are very savvy about school and QS rankings. They know which institutions are excelling and which aren’t. Don’t be shy about showing off where your pupils are headed and how many sporting and academic scholarships they have accrued. And make your case clearly about added value and how you prepare students for the next stage of their educational journey.

The social network

While we can find it a bit uncomfortable to talk about this, what many HNW parents want to buy into is an elite club. A question that we are regularly asked by prospective parents is who their child will meet at school. What British independent schools sell is not just a pedagogically rigorous education but membership of the upper echelons of society. Domestic audiences might feel conflicted on this point, and the political mood music in the UK doesn’t help. But lots of aspirational HNW families have no such qualms. You would be surprised how many parents want to know where Prince George is going to school. So don’t shy away from the social benefits. Talk about your school’s successful alumni – we would heartily recommend glossy stories on your website – and let prospective parents know what networking benefits their child will receive by signing on the dotted line with you. The Girls’ Day School Trust schools, for example, have an alumnae network 100,000 strong. All its sixth form girls get access to Rungway, an alumnae app with more than 2,500 active users, GDST alumnae willing to provide advice, work experience, or a helping hand. That’s a very powerful network to belong to. Make the most of affiliations your school has with others such as partnerships for social or sporting events for example.

Location, location, location

It matters, hugely. Nearly every enquiry we field from overseas is from a family wanting to be near an international airport. Obviously, if your school is in deepest Cornwall, you can’t just up sticks and move. But if you aren’t near an international hub, foreground what your school does to make physical proximity less of a barrier. Explain that you have air-conditioned private buses that will shuttle pupils and parents to and from the school, create pretty maps that show how easily that journey is done, talk about journey times. Britain isn’t big so make the distances seem small to prospective families. Truro School, for example, has a Heathrow shuttle that runs to and from the airport, plus a beautiful brochure on its website explaining how its suite of minibuses service the local area.

Best of British

We cannot overstate how important this is. International families want their children to have the quintessentially British school experience. They want the traditions and historic buildings, the sport, quaint rituals, formal uniforms and ancient customs. Even as many of our biggest independent schools open multiple overseas franchises, demand for the British original still outweighs the appeal of the satellite equivalent. It’s a fine balance to achieve, you must be sure to foreground what makes your school brilliantly British but also show that it is modern, progressive and forward-facing.

High net worth parents want authenticity

So be true to the school that you are. Make the most of your plus points and don’t pretend you are what you’re not. If families are expecting single dorms with an en suite and silver service for their child and that isn’t what you offer, don’t pretend that you do. But make the most of what you have and be willing to ‘reframe’ your offering. If your dorms are a little frayed around the edges for example, tell prospective parents they are ‘steeped in history’.  HNW families want a school that is comfortable in its own skin, so celebrate what makes your school great. Use specific stories and specific proof points to illustrate what makes up the DNA of your school.

Boarding arrangements really matter to international families

It’s not just the quality of the dorms – cold and mould are no longer passable – but HNW families from afar are often looking for assurances that boarding still means full boarding, – nobody wants their child home alone at the weekends – while those relocating as a whole family tend to be wanting very flexible arrangements. Be clear about your offer, whether it’s full boarding, weekly or flexi. Ludgrove prep school in Berkshire, for example, clearly states that it has 186 boys, all boarding as per the school’s ‘fortnightly boarding’ structure with the pupils enjoying an exeat every other weekend.

Building character

One of the great attractions of British schools is the wide and varied extracurricular offer. The idea of character development is a particularly British thing and something that remains attractive to families from China or India, for example. Make the most of what you offer to develop that character, from oratory opportunities with the Model UN for example, to sporting and music fixtures and competitions, visiting speakers, and outreach experience. All of these are traditionally character-building activities for pupils to participate in – and a chance for them to build the self-belief, resilience and confidence for which British schools are known.

Pastoral care

As much as HNW parents want to know their child will be stretched academically, they also want to know that they will be well cared for during times of need. Pastoral care is hugely important but it’s amazing how few schools focus on their pastoral care facilities and ethos on their websites and prospectus. This is now a key selling point of a school, so don’t hide it away. International parents are also worried about the teenage party scene in the UK and recreational drugs – British independent schools have a bad reputation in this regard so be prepared to answer questions openly and honestly. All schools state they have a zero-tolerance policy to drug taking, but how does your school deal with instances where pupils have strayed?

Make the most of your staff

British education is rightly celebrated worldwide as a gold standard and much of this is down to the many extraordinary teachers we have. Schools often undersell their staff on their external touchpoints. Have senior staff profiles, let us know what their subject passion is, why they teach, what their professional and personal history is. Humanise your staff and bring them to life in your marketing collateral.

Have a voice

Now is not the time to hide your light under a bushel. Make sure your school is talking to as wide an audience as possible. Be media friendly and prepared to speak up about who and what your school is. Don’t say the same thing as other schools and don’t be afraid to court the press, put your school leaders in print and on camera. Remember, strong leaders attract a strong following. At the end of the day, you are selling a world-leading brand.

Jess Harris is director of educational consultantcy Quintessentially Education

Jess Harris