Journal Entry:
Is the Autumn Open Day well-marketing, well-planned and well-executed?
Were guests made to feel welcome and know how to come back?
Were our pupils kind, effective and transparent?
In our last marketing survey, most parents looked at 2-3 schools before choosing Cransley, and it is expected that anyone within our catchment area would have popped to The Grange, amongst others, on recent weekends, and rightly so.
The weather hasn’t helped any of us hoping to hold a sunny Autumnal event, but it's the warmth inside that counts, and I’d like to think that was very evident on Saturday, and I want to thank every one of the lovely guests and families who braved the elements and joined us this weekend.
A good open day will inevitably showcase the learning environment and resources available, even on a wet and windy day, but ultimately it isn’t what persuades a family to return for another visit.
It isn’t the headteacher or his team welcoming guests as they arrive, or the Chair of Governors sharing a cookie or two.
It isn’t the superb staff sharing their expertise and glowing promotion for their subject or form.
It isn’t Chef Ed's wonderful demonstration of his kitchen, or even the incredible Lego model of the school and Estate (thank you so much, Sam K (Y10)).
It is always the pupils. Their openness, thoughtfulness and pride.
Parents so often say that they want their child to become the pupil that is showing them around the school.
Where else would a pupil guiding a nervous child around the school go into each room to describe to their little guest what was inside and how busy the room was, before they entered?
Where else would a child take over the tour of another pupil because their friend isn’t feeling well?
Where else would a pupil happily take a late-comer around their school, even when they are sacrificing a netball fixture. Each of these were seen on Saturday.
Our children are not given a marketing script or words and phrases they must say. We trust them enough to be clear and transparent about life at Cransley, and indeed we trust you as guests to recognise when a child is trying to remember what they have been told to say by a marketing executive.
We hope that many of our families will return to us for our parent guided tours and pupil enrichment days in November, and if nothing else share experiences with friends and families. If you were a new visitor to the school, do let us know if you enjoyed the event or how we can make ours even better.
For those who missed the chance to visit, please give us a call. We can try our best to accommodate a visit in the coming weeks.
A huge thank you to our families for arranging their weekend obligations, fixtures, shopping trips, gym visits and more to offer use to us of their children.
The success of our Open days are crucial to the effective development of any independent school. We currently have just over 250 pupils, 90 in the Juniors, 162 in the Seniors, and are on track to slowly grow over the course of the year, with a bumper field of candidates applying for places in Year 6 and 7 for September 2026.
