Highgate Journal

Editorial print and digital publication design for London's Independent School of the Decade.

Due to ongoing challenges in the education sector during the pandemic, Highgate School – voted Sunday Times’ Independent School of the Decade – needed to promote the quality of their offering to prospective parents and pupils, who were not given an opportunity to gain insights into the quality of the school’s offering through more traditional means such as open days. The Admissions department wished to ensure a good number of quality applications take up offers at the school, despite concerns brought about by a tumultuous year in the sector. This was made all the more challenging with an editorial team that was dispersed and working entirely from home.

It was proposed that an annual magazine be created and included in the standard applicant offer pack to provide them with interesting insights presenting the curriculum, staff and facilities in their best light, and convince selected applicants to accept their offers. It was decided that the magazine would showcase the breadth of creative subjects the school is not formally known for, as well as key topics of interest and related current affairs. The magazine was to follow a style typical of creative/arts magazines: heavy on strong visuals that aid in storytelling and a non-commercial tone. The content to be targeted to a specific market group, yet remain as interesting, visually appealing read to all. It was named Highgate Journal, after a similar internal publication that ran from 1937 to 1994. The project had to consider sustainability issues.

The Highgate Journal was published with a relatively small print run of physical copies (printed on FSC certified paper from sustainably managed forests) that were sent to prospective parents of applicants a week before they were due to accept their offers.

The debut issue – Creativity in a Crisis – focussed on Arts and Design, showcasing pupil work (including on the cover) as well as stories and a photo journey of how the school managed the COVID-19 crisis. The magazine was more widely distributed digitally to reach a larger audience across the Highgate Foundation. The feedback received on the quality of content and presentation was excellent, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic in marketing to prospective parents and pupils in 2020. This helped increase applications by 130% across the school compared to the previous year.