Bellemoor School | Southampton

 

Qualitative Research by Post Graduate Students from the University of Southampton School of Management

 

Summary of Findings

 

Background

As part of a post graduate marketing course, six students from the University of Southampton School of Management were invited by Bellemoor School to undertake a number of qualitative market research exercises. Bellemoor School identified the research topics, which were agreed as suitable by the course tutor. The topics were:

• Perception and branding of a new name
• The significance of the Web in communication
• PR and media relations
• Brochure and prospectus design
• What stops parents crossing the threshold of Bellemoor School
• Fears of parents sending their daughters to a predominately boys’ school

 

Methodology

To obtain their results the students used a combination of in depth interviews with subject experts, and small focus groups.

 

The change in name for the school was explored through two interviews, one with a marketing expert, and the other with a branding expert, and through a focus group of parents of Bellemoor pupils. For Web communications there were two interviews with marketing experts, one looked at navigability, aesthetics, and design change issues, and the other concentrated on using the website as a marketing tool. The topic of PR and media relations used a focus group formed from members of the school staff, education journalists, and people from the local community. There was also an in depth interview with a PR and media expert. Brochure and Prospectus design used the results from a focus group of parents from Shirley Junior School, and an in depth interview with a designer. To look at what stops parents crossing the threshold of Bellemoor School there were two in depth interviews with governors from one of the feeder schools, both of whom had children at the feeder school. To report on the fears of parents sending their daughters to a predominately boys’ school there were two in depth interviews with representatives from King Edwards School, and a focus group with local parents of daughters. There were also two shorter discussions held with a representative of the Asian Muslim community, and a representative of the Hindu community in Southampton.

 

 

Results

As some of the issues apply to more than one topic they are not identified as specific to any project. The detailed results for each project are available separately. The recommendations will be listed under their topic headings.

 

While the topics are different there are some common themes. Through the interviews and focus groups the students met with a number of parents. Some of these had children at Bellemoor School, and others had children who could potentially join the school.

 

There were many positive comments about he School, and it was generally recognised that it was making progress. It was felt that it is a small friendly school that was providing children with the necessary background. This was quoted as “a fully rounded experience rather than academic achievement. The two governors of the feeder school felt that the perception of the school is of low attainment, and believe that it is a high risk choice, although they do believe that significant progress has been made. They were critical of behaviour, but admitted that this based on seeing all the boys leaving the school at the same time, not on visiting the school during the day. In contrast the parents in the focus group looking at the fears of parents sending their daughters to Bellemoor were a lot more supportive. They believed that many parents were willing to support the School, and were aware of the positive changes taking place. Some of them felt that if parents got together and all agreed to send their children to Bellemoor they would be proactive in making the school a success. This group were open minded about co-education, and were in favour of mixed classes provided that the curriculum changed to reflect the admission of girls. They did not believe that the behaviour of the boys would be a major concern.

 

The marketing experts were clear that the marketing should be starting immediately. The staff were important in promoting and communicating the values of the school. The pupils were also important, and using the pupils of the feeder schools in shared events was a good way of influencing parents on the positive aspects of the school. Parents could see that a change of name was important to show it was a different school. Those with boys currently at the school appreciated the care given to their boys and felt that communication with them was good. The new name was not well received by some parents in this group because they felt that a ‘high school’ would change the character of the school to something more academic. Others though could see that the name change could contribute to overcoming the prejudice against the school.

 

There were mixed views on the use of the Web in communication. The website needed redesign and needed to be kept up to date. It was not clear that this was the best way to communicate as the target audience was not clearly defined. The prospectus was seen as boring by the expert designer, but parents were more concerned that the information was up to date.

 

 

Conclusions and Recommendations

 

Change of name:

• It is important for all staff at Bellemoor School to promote and communicate intensively the values the school wants to stand for. Events should be organised and PR used extensively to promote the school and its’ new name.
• The friendliness, ability to care, and proximity of the school to parents and children are the current values perceived by the parents, and are important to keep and carry on.
• The parents are not sure that the new name conveys the existing values of the school, although prospective parents might have different opinions

 

Significance of the Web in communication

• Concentrate on direct marketing techniques, talking to people on a one to one basis on open days or at exhibitions. The Web is more useful when marketing on a national or international level.
• Feedback from prospective and existing parents should be incorporated in current values.
• The website should cater for the needs of not only prospective parents, but existing parents and students. It is not clear at the moment who the website is trying to talk to.
• There should be a redesign of the website to make better use of space. The use of fonts should be consistent. Some links need to be removed or updated. There is a lot of information on the site that needs to be properly managed.

 

PR and Media relations

• The Bellemoor image and reputation is not held in very high esteem.
• PR and MR can be used as a vehicle to send messages to prospective parents and the community about the reasons for changing to a co-educational school.
• Stories for the media should be balanced to show a holistic view of the school and highlight some of its strengths.
• Efforts should be made to feed information in media initiatives already supported by the school (e.g. Newsletter) to the community outside Bellemoor.
• A Communication Officer should be appointed, and students should also be asked to help.
• The IT and Art department can be used to design projects and assignments to update or redesign web pages.

 

 

Brochure and Prospectus design

• The views of parents and the designer often contradicted each other. Parents want an informative brochure to make a decision about which school to choose. To the designer the importance is the image conveyed to the reader.
• The design needs to be environmentally friendly. The use of inserts that can be replaced each year with updated information, rather than a completely new brochure, was liked by parents.
• The design must include pictures of the environment the pupils will be working in, and a location map must also be included.
• The brochure/prospectus should provide a background to the school i.e. ethos, philosophy, education strategy, school activities. Include quotes from students.
• Reflect that Bellemoor will be co-educational, and how the transition will be managed.
• Review how schools in competition with Bellemoor are promoting themselves.

 

What stops parents crossing the threshold of Bellemoor School

• There are some facets of positive perception of Bellemoor slowly appearing, but low attainment and perception of the behaviour of pupils appear to be the most substantial negatives.
• There are signs that Bellemoor is being considered as a positive choice, but more evidence of sustained improvement needs to be publicised to provide a ‘leap of faith’.
• Attempt to lower the profile of boys as they exit the school.
• Publicise the ‘added value’ quotient.
• Aim for specialist status in subjects like maths or technology.
• Give greatest prominence to academic subjects.
• Emphasise that Bellemoor is not the apathetic choice, but offers future improved attainment.
• Run events to bring children from feeder schools closer to Bellemoor

 

 

Fears of parents sending daughters to a predominately boys’ school

• Changes in the educational landscape provide the school with the exciting opportunity to make a real difference.
• The changes should not be seen as a threat, but a great chance to push things forward.
• The School has a great advantage in being located in a good residential area.
• It has strong feeder schools and many proactive parents who want to support Bellemoor.
• Installing all the necessary facilities for girls is seen as compulsory.
• Going co-educational is expensive because of keeping options open for everybody and to be equal and fair.
• An area built for girls to have somewhere quiet during break times is crucial for the first intake of girls.
• The population of parents with daughters in feeder schools is relatively small, and can be approached in a concentrated way.
• Many parents are willing to support Bellemoor.
• It is vital that boys and girls are treated equally. What is not obvious at first sight is that boys often feel unfairly treated, and girls are allowed to get away with far more than boys.
• The decision of parents to send their daughters to Bellemoor School seems to be primarily based on the ability of the school to provide a safe study environment, in which girls may pursue their studies without disruption and where their emotional well being is guaranteed.
• Another important issue is the number of girls that are in the school to form a group of friends.
• There should be reasonable ratio of male to female teachers in order to make the girls feel comfortable.

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