Maintaining a ‘World Class’ school
Roundhay School & Sixth Form
A high performing all-through school, serving a diverse local community, Assembly has developed the brand, message and profile of Roundhay to provide coherence that balances heritage, with a more contemporary audience-specific focus.
Since 2017, we have been a trusted partner for Roundhay School & Sixth Form and have supported the organisation to achieve an Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ judgement, ‘World Class School’ status and over-subscribed pupil numbers.
Upon commencement of our relationship we identified the need to modernise the brand, message and communications of the school - internally and externally - whilst protecting its heritage and history. Reliance on legacy reputation had created unrealistic expectations and complacency in areas, presenting a significant risk for future reputation and outcomes.
We also identified a key priority to implement a digital-first communications approach, ensuring that key messages, celebrations, success stories and the vision and values of the school and sixth form permeated throughout the local community.
We immersed ourselves across the school and sixth form to benchmark previous approaches, establish core KPI’s and build strong, personable relationships with key leaders, staff, parents and pupils - instantly becoming part of the Roundhay family.
Insight
Assembly is the sole brand, communications and marketing partner for Roundhay School & Sixth Form. This has included:
Digital channels – establishing cohesion across all three school phases into one while retaining distinction for each to tailor user experience and target marketing.
Employer brand – developing a clear strategy to help strengthen communication around the Roundhay value proposition as an employer, to support with staff recruitment.
Sixth Form branding & admissions campaign – implementing a digital-first campaign, incorporating motion, film and design securing engagement to key events and initiatives.
School improvement - driving forward education engagement programmes such as SEND initiatives, curriculum resources, assessment preparation and academic engagement.
Complete creative partner - providing video, photography, design, digital marketing, strategy, web and print for Roundhay School & Sixth Form.
Action
Our partnership continues to maintain and elevate the profile to ensure trust with the local communities Roundhay serves, as well as positioning as a beacon across the wider education sector, demonstrated through:
Oversubscribed student roll across primary and secondary phases.
Increased student numbers, year-on-year at sixth form.
Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ and ‘World Class’ school judgements/awards with particular reference to brand and communications.
Impact
“I have had the pleasure of working with the Assembly team (formerly Engaging Education) throughout my leadership career. They have an exceptional ability to understand the character and aspirations of a school and translate them into creative, impactful marketing and communications.
What sets Assembly apart is their genuinely personal approach. They build strong relationships, provide insightful and tailored advice, and become a trusted partner rather than simply an external provider. Their creativity, professionalism and understanding of the education sector are second to none.
During our partnership, we have strengthened our profile, secured an Outstanding Ofsted judgement, increased student recruitment, and achieved year-on-year growth in sixth form numbers alongside growth in our overall roll.
Assembly have been an invaluable part of our journey. Their passion for education, unwavering commitment to excellence and genuine care for the schools they work with make them far more than a creative partner.”
Matthew Partington
Executive Headteacher, Roundhay School & Sixth Form