FEATURE
Early
learning
David Wellesley Wesley,
founder of the Independent
Schools Show, tells EN how
the exhibition can bring
reassurance and choice to
overwhelmed parents
How did the idea for the show come
about?
It came from a lunch with my godfather
while I was working at Haymarket. I was
coming up with a concept. I had a great time at
school and I thought that parents were putting
too much reliance on the dinner party circuit,
and all school websites kind of said the same
sort of thing.
I thought that as it’s such a huge investment
– up to a quarter of a million – it warranted
more of an investigation and I thought for an
exhibition it was a good concept.
I went to the Independent Schools Council,
which was the body that represented
independent schools. It had some smaller fairs,
but they were very regional. I worked with my
old school and we thought that if we could
come up with something on a big enough scale
with a proper budget and a proper venue then
that would be a useful thing to do.
Where do visitors and exhibitors come
from?
We have about 200 schools and 95 percent of
them are UK-based and it’s about a 50/50 split
between inside the M25 day schools and then
boarding schools outside.
We curate the schools increasingly every
which year. In the first few years we didn’t at
all and were just happy to fill it up but now,
like any exhibition, the space is finite, so it
does mean we can pick and choose to make
sure there is a range of schools from artistic to
academic to sporty.
Visitors come from all over because all the
schools are there under one roof and it saves
them having to go on opening days all over the
country. They don’t need to give up consecutive
Saturdays throughout the autumn to go and
view five or six schools when they can they can
get quite a lot of the legwork done at the show,
and choose a couple that they like the ethos of
and what they have to offer.
I think sometimes it’s quite intimidating
for parents and families to drive in through
the school gates and commit to a whole day
of listening to the head of Sixth Form and the
headmaster and tramping around the grounds.
This is quite an anonymous way of coming and
not being judged and understanding what the
fee-paying sector has to offer over and above
the state school option.
We get the full spectrum of clients, from
second and third generations of families to the
completely aspirational looking for bursaries,
scholarships and funding help.
What kind of content is at the show?
We have two theatres. There is the Sunday
Times Theatre and the London Parents Forum,
which has slightly grittier topics. Over the
weekend we do about 30 talks covering topics
include school fee planning, co-ed versus single
sex, when is the right time to board, how
competitive the London scene is and when to
use tutors.
The first year in 2007, the schools were
coming along with a bursar who had their arms
crossed and would put up a few pieces of work
from the art room. Now everyone chooses
amazing graphics. Over the 12 years schools
have needed to think about their points of
differentiation and USPs, and they present them
quite professionally now.
Is the time of year important?
We fought with the venue to get their very
last exhibition date because they
go into Christmas party mode. I
think parents want to know that
it’s sorted out before Christmas and
the next September entry. There’s
a massive spike in demand for
information and open days so it
always needs to be in the autumn.
It’s firmly established in the school diary; it’s
the Battersea school show. We’ll fight hard to
keep it and we always book a couple of years
ahead.
What’s the competition and why is the
show valuable to visitors and exhibitors?
There are publications like The Good
School Guide and there are a couple of online
algorithmic resources. Those reviews are
there more for credibility once parents are
aware of the school. As demand in London
has increased, schools have become more
academically selective. If you’re having a
challenge, it’s a great thing to attend and the
visitors leave incredibly reassured, energised
and happier about the next step than when they
came in in a bit of a panic.
The point of exhibitions is how tangible the
outcomes are. At the show they know exactly
how many registrations they’ve got. They go
home, they convert them and then they can
map out quite a valuable marketing route.
The schools pay around £500-plus per sqm,
so they need to go back and present to the
governors with a ROI in terms of outcomes and
registrations.
Parents give us registration details but once
they go into the show they choose how and
who to give their details to.
We have a brilliant post-show report which
really goes into depth about what they’re
looking for, and in fact that they come with a
really open mind and they’re very much there
to be educated. EN
exhibitionnews.co.uk | January 2019
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