Earlscliffe sixth form
Earlscliffe is an independent college in Folkestone, Kent dedicated to preparing young people for university. Both sixth form level studies and summer schools are available for international students wanting to move into higher education. The college’s ethos is built around the best of British education: a personalised, ‘gold standard programme in traditional subjects, providing students with the best academic preparation for entry into the world’s most competitive universities’.
In order for the college to become successful and build a reputation quickly a strong brand was essential. Our brief was to create a clear personality, one which reflected the traditional British educational heritage and appealed to overseas students, parents and agencies looking for a high quality, personalised sixth form experience. A brand identity based around the Earlscliffe name, together with a heraldic plant device were the initial components to be designed. A versatile, accessible website and prospectus followed, so that the college could communicate effectively to an international audience from day one. The brand has been rolled out across a range of communications, from stationery and forms to signing and promotional materials.
A fast track process was necessary to get the college up and running quickly. This entailed intense collaboration with the college’s director and co-founder. His personal vision for the college and a clearly articulated ethos helped to focus the brand development phase. In design terms, researching references from heraldry and 19th century decoration helped us position the brand in an academic tradition, without compromising its distinctive contemporary educational programme.
Without doubt the immediate impact of Earlscliffe on the international academic scene has been enhanced by its brand. Coming to market as a new player the college needed rapidly to acquire a position of authority and standing. Since launch the college has expanded to meet strong demand, establishing a thriving campus across the town.
Alongside the branding process, we developed a high-end corporate brochure to reflect the outstanding reputation offered by the university preparation school. The brochures consist of bespoke branded end sheets and the commissioning of school life photography which we coordinated and art directed.
Building on the success of the main brochure we have developed a series of printed communications for Earlscliffe Summer – the specialist provider for residential English language and activity programmes for the Summer and Easter holidays.
From the successful rebrand we were commissioned to plan, organise and build a website resource that presented the sixth forms offer together with the vast range of summer holiday school and activities. The dual site is built with an accessible online form that has aided administrations and communications for interview process.
