News

Setting up a Free School or Academy? How big is your catchment?

Monday, February 20th, 2012 | Blogs, Research
MANDARIN Market And Area Intelligence

MANDARIN Market and Area intelligence from mtm

Blog by Melanie Tucker, Principal and Head of Marketing Services

If you are making plans to become a Free School or an Academy you will no doubt be considering the extent of your catchment. Careful definition of your catchment using an accurate analysis tool like mtm’s MANDARIN will be fundamental to your business modelling and not something that you will want to leave to chance.

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How effective is your school’s advertising?

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 | Blogs, Marketing, Research

Blog by James Leggett, Marketing Research Manager

Do you or your school advertise regularly in newspapers and magazines within your local areas? Do you keep a track of the effectiveness of each advertisements? At mtmconsulting, we regularly undertake online satisfaction surveys for schools, asking how parents found out about the school, with interesting results.

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Population growth – Know the facts

Thursday, January 26th, 2012 | Blogs, Research, Strategy

Blog by Jane Davies, Research Analyst

We are all aware that the British population is expanding and the fact that we have an increasing population should be good news for all education providers, including the independent education sector.  There will indeed be more children but factoring this in to planning your future school strategy should be done with care.

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2012 – Olympic or Titanic year?

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 | Blogs, Marketing, Newsletters, Research, Strategy

Blog by Dick Davison, Head of Strategic Services

There’s sometimes an odd symmetry in historical coincidences. 2012 will mark the centenary of the most celebrated nautical disaster of modern times, the loss of the Titanic. The Titanic had a sister ship, named the Olympic. And this year will also bring, of course, the Olympic Games to London.

So – Titanic or Olympic – which will prove to be a more apt epithet for the year? A year of celebration and renewed confidence in the future? Or a year when all our confident assumptions about progress and growth hit an iceberg?

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Get ahead for the Open Day season

Friday, January 13th, 2012 | Blogs, Marketing, Strategy

Blog by Nicky Adams, Schools’ Marketing Consultant

It’s a new year and schools’ marketers’ thoughts turn to the Open Day season, and how to encourage potential students through your doors and onto your roll for the coming September.

This is your chance to really sell your school – the pay-off for the past year’s promotional activity (and budget) that has made sure your school’s name is familiar to those families you are most keen to attract. Now is the time to convert that raised awareness into full classrooms, and the open day is a vital step that warrants careful planning.

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The 2012 Education Sector Report

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 | Insights, Marketing, Research, Strategy

The third edition of mtmconsulting’s groundbreaking Sector Report is available to order now.

mtmconsulting’s UK Education Sector; Forecasts, Challenges & Opportunities 2012 – 2020 is the authoritative independent commentary for the charitable, for profit and state-funded independent education markets.

Produced by mtmconsulting biannually, this is an objective review of these fast-changing sectors. It includes statistics, trends, forecasts and scenarios, providing a valuable information source for decision makers or those wishing to enter the sectors.

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School Wars – Melanie Tucker attends the All-Party Group for Education debate

Monday, December 5th, 2011 | Blogs, Events, In the News, Marketing, Research

Blog by Melanie Tucker, Principal and Head of Marketing Services

Last week I was invited to take part in the All-Party Group for Education debate – ‘The changing schools landscape: what can maintained schools, free schools and academies learn from one another?’ It looked like a great opportunity to identify ways in which educationalists could co-operate and exchange expertise, but sadly it turned into an argument between those who want to give comprehensive education more time to succeed and those who run free schools.

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An Oscar for Andrew – Dick Davison attends the Independent School Awards

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 | Blogs, Marketing, Research, Uncategorized

Blog by Dick Davison,  Head of Strategic Services

With the UK heading inexorably, it seems, for another recession and the economic news unremittingly gloomy, we all need a bit of good news.

So full marks to Andrew Maiden, publisher of Funding for Independent Schools (http://www.fismagazine.co.uk), who had the good idea a couple of years ago of launching the sector’s own awards event to give some recognition to enterprise, imagination, energy and leadership in independent schools.

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Making the most of your market research

Thursday, November 17th, 2011 | Blogs, Marketing, Research

Blog by James Leggett, Research Manager

It’s vital to assess the status quo before your school can even think about moving forward, and at mtmconsulting we believe so passionately in the value of incisive market research that we spend much of our time and energy carrying out bespoke survey projects on behalf of schools that are serious about unlocking their future business potential.
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mtm/vwv Autumn Conference Report 2011 – Practical Strategies for a New Education Market

Thursday, November 10th, 2011 | Events, In the News, Insights, Marketing, Research, Strategy, Uncategorized

Following on from another successful conference at the IOD, we have produced a full report of the day. This year’s conference was entitled ‘Practical Strategies for a New Education Market’.

You can read a summary of Sir Ewan Harper’s remarkable account of how the United Learning Trust was transformed from a small and struggling independent school group into a thriving organisation, with more than double the pupil numbers, and went on to become the nation’s biggest sponsor of Academies.

Other topics covered include the opportunities and pitfalls of extending your school age range, a summary of the mtmconsulting UK Education Sector Report 2012 – 2020: Forecasts, Challenges and Opportunities and Tom Packer’s account of his white knuckle ride through the process of opening the West London Free School.

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